


the girl who has your heart; the boy who knows your soul.

by porcelainsimplicity



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Hanging Out In A Diner, I Made Up Siblings for Some People, Mental Health Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-07-24
Packaged: 2018-12-06 07:57:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 49,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11596332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/porcelainsimplicity/pseuds/porcelainsimplicity
Summary: Cassian Andor just wants to make it through his final year of college without incident. His best friend Kes Dameron has a crush on med student Shara Bey, and his pursuit leads them to a diner and a group of new friends. Cassian slowly opens up to pretty waitress Jyn, but due to his mental illness is convinced he’ll end up alone. But will he?(this is a terrible summary btw)





	the girl who has your heart; the boy who knows your soul.

**Author's Note:**

> still working my way back from my very long illness, and months ago, someone challenged me anonymously to write a college au in the star wars fandom. i am one hundred percent certain that this is not what they were wanting when they did, but this is what you're going to get. it's something that i had previously written in an original format and knew that no one would ever read, but i felt like it was something i wanted someone to read so i skinned it with a rogue one/star wars mask and i sincerely hope that you're going to like it, and if you do, please let me know. also i seem to have a thing about making cassian a computer programmer.
> 
> all of cassian's struggles with his mental illness in this story come directly from my life and my struggles, so spare me the 'it's not realistic' comments. it's as fucking realistic as i could stand to write it without giving myself a panic attack.

“Cassian! Cassian, wait up!”

Cassian Andor heard the voice of his best friend Kes Dameron as he walked out of his Intelligent Control Through Learning and Optimization class, but he kept walking. Kes knew that Cassian always went back to the apartment they shared after this class, and Kes always met him there after the class Kes was supposed to be in now.

Eventually, Cassian felt a hand grab him around his elbow and pull him around, finding Kes half bent over and gasping for air.

“I think you need to hit the gym, Kes.”

“And I think it's rude of you to pretend you didn't hear me,” Kes replied, rising to his full height but still sucking in deep breaths. “I've got something to tell you.”

“Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that you're not in class right now.”

Kes just rolled his eyes. “Introduction to Theory of Computation? I can pass that in my sleep. No, this is way more important than that.”

Cassian pulled his hand from Kes's grasp and began to walk away. If something was more important than class to Kes, that meant it was one thing and one thing only: Shara Bey.

Kes had been infatuated with Shara Bey for pretty much the entire time that they'd known each other, and that was the entirety of their university lives. Shara was a med student with long, chestnut brown hair and bright hazel eyes, and pretty much since the second Kes first saw her on campus, she was all he thought about.

But he'd never had the courage to say hello to her, let alone ask her out on a date.

“Cassian, come on!” Kes exclaimed, hurrying to fall into step next to him. “This is important.”

“Have you said a word to her yet?”

“Well, no, but...”

“There is no buts,” Cassian said, looking over at Kes. “However, I suspect you're going to tell me anyway.”

Kes sucked in a deep breath. “So I was in the student union.”

“When you should have been in class.”

“Can you please stop sounding like my mother right now?” Kes asked, slinging an arm around Cassian's shoulders. “So I was in the student union earlier, and Shara was in there with some of the other med girls, right? They were talking about all kinds of stuff, and then one of them invited Shara to go to some study group with them. She said no, she prefers to study alone, so she was going to Rebel's to do so.”

“I'm assuming there's a point to all of this?” Cassian said, glancing over at Kes. 

Kes just rolled his eyes. “Look, the point is, Shara is going to Rebel's tonight to study and therefore we need to go to Rebel's tonight too.”

Cassian stopped walking and shrugged Kes's arm off his shoulders. “I thought tonight was supposed to be a night where we went and looked for a date for me, not went somewhere for you to stare at Shara all night and never make a move.”

Kes reached out and grasped Cassian's left arm. “I know, I know. But I promise you, we can do that next Friday night. Cassian, this is a prime piece of intelligence about Shara and I'm not going to give up on it for anything.”

Cassian shook himself free from Kes's grasp and folded his arms across his chest. “Are you going to talk to her this evening?”

Kes's gaze turned towards the sidewalk they were standing on, and Cassian just threw up his hands and started walking away. Kes caught up with him quickly, forcing Cassian to stop walking once more. “Look, I may not have enough courage in me at the moment, but who knows what's going to happen once I've got a short stack of pancakes and half a carafe of coffee in me. Please, Cassian. I promise you the next time we go out, it will be with the goal of finding you someone. I swear it.”

Cassian knew as Kes said the words that those promises would become empty ones should he hear more about Shara on that night. But Kes looked so pathetic in front of him, eyes wide and desperate, and he knew how badly that Kes wanted Shara, so he did what he usually did and set aside his personal need for Kes's. “Fine, we'll go to this Rebel's place. Where is Rebel's anyway? I've never heard of it.”

“Rebel's is clear on the other side of Yavin,” Kes said as they started to walk again. “It's a diner, but it's not crawling with student traffic like the ones around campus are. I bet that's why Shara likes it.”

“Then why are we going to disrupt that for her?”

Kes gave Cassian a look deploring him to please keep up. “We're not going to disrupt her. We're going to have dinner and cautiously watch her.”

“No,” Cassian said, shaking his head. “If we're going to this place with a goal of studying with Shara Bey, then we're studying while we're there.”

“Cassian.”

“Kes,” Cassian replied. “Come on, we have that Intro to Computational Linguistics exam on Monday. We'll use tonight to study for it.”

“But Cassian...”

“Kes, we have to do something or else she's going to notice fairly quickly that all you're doing is staring at her, and that could end badly,” Cassian pointed out. “Especially if she's noticed us around wherever she is lately because we've been practically stalking her.”

“We have not been stalking her,” Kes said seriously.

“Kes, we got manicures and pedicures at Coruscant two weeks ago because you knew she was going to get her haircut there. _Manicures and pedicures_ , Kes.”

“We went to Coruscant because that's where Luke's sister Leia works. And come on, your feet are softer than they've ever been and you know it,” Kes said, sighing. “But I suppose you are right. We need a reason to be around Shara.”

“Exactly. So we're going to study.”

Kes groaned. “I hate exams.”

“I know you do,” Cassian said, smiling. “Just think about it, Kes. A little bit more than a semester, and then we'll never have to take an exam ever again.”

Kes grinned at that. “Too true, Cassian. We're going to have to figure out what to do after graduation though. Don't think I'm going to let you slip off back to Fest. Oh no, you're a Yaviner now.”

“I'm not sure I'm going to stay in Yavin either.”

“The university has practically already offered you a job, Cassian.”

“I'm not sure I want to be working at Yavin University for the rest of my life either.”

Kes sighed. “Well, you're not going to just abandon me.”

Cassian slung an arm across Kes's shoulders as they walked towards the bus stop. “I can assure you that I will never abandon you, Kes, no matter where life takes us after graduation.”

“Good,” Kes said, laughing. “Because I need someone to laugh at me about Shara for the rest of my life.”

“One of these days, Kes, you'll either talk to her or get over her.”

“Not sure I agree with you on that, Cassian, but I'll let you hope.”

*****

Jyn Erso had barely gotten two steps into Rebel's Diner when she heard the manager Jan Dodonna call out.

“'Bout time you got here Erso!”

Jyn rolled her eyes. “My shift doesn't start for fifteen minutes, Dodonna!”

Jyn went into the back, bypassing the kitchen and storage rooms for the small room at the back that served as a makeshift dressing room for the waitresses. Jyn already had her work dress on, so all she needed to do was clock in and grab an apron and order book. When she made it back to the dressing room, she found her good friend and fellow waitress Hera Syndulla already there. “Evening Hera.”

“Jyn! About time. Dodonna was screaming at me about the fact that you weren't here.”

“Dodonna can't read because my shift clearly doesn't start until six-fifteen according to the schedule.”

Hera laughed. “I know you're right, but he's probably going to lay into you tonight.”

“I can handle Dodonna when he's a grouchy son of a bitch,” Jyn said, reaching for a clean apron and starting to tie it around her waist. “How was your day at school?”

Hera went to Lothal School of Cosmetology during the day with the goal of becoming a nail technician at a beauty shop somewhere in Yavin. Hera went on excitedly about how she got to do another student's nails that day, and that her instructor thought they had come out very well. 

“I'm getting closer and closer to graduation,” Hera said. “Which means that once I have a job somewhere else, I can be done with this hellhole and move on.”

“Well, I'm not looking forward to that day because it means you won't be here with me every night.”

Hera picked up on the annoyed tone of Jyn's voice and sighed. “They're at it again?”

“Of course,” Jyn said. “If I just applied myself, I could do anything. They would be so happy to have me come into the practice with them. Money is of course no object when it comes to their one and only child. The usual bullshit.”

Hera watched as Jyn picked up her card and clocked herself in. “How did they react when you told them no?”

“More of the usual bullshit,” Jyn said, grabbing an order book off the stack on the shelf and a pen from the holder. “They don't understand why I would prefer to work such a lowly job instead of bettering myself by becoming exactly what they want me to be. Honestly, Hera, I think I'm going to be a waitress here until I die just to spite them.”

“You don't mean that,” Hera said, reaching for an order book of her own. 

“Of course I don't,” Jyn said. “The last thing I want is Dodonna yelling at me every night for the rest of my life. But I'm sure as hell not about to tell them that.”

“You could always come to school with me,” Hera suggested. “Then you could find a job at a beauty shop here in town.”

“No offense, Hera, but I don't want to spend the rest of my life doing someone's hair or nails,” Jyn said as she started to leave the room, Hera right behind her. “Let's just change the subject. Plans for the weekend?”

“Kanan is going to take me to see the new Baze Malbus movie.”

Kanan Jarrus was Hera's boyfriend of the past two and a half years, and Jyn loved him. He was funny and sweet, just protective enough, and far more of a gentleman than any of Jyn's last few boyfriends had been.

“You are so lucky to have found somebody like Kanan,” Jyn said as they walked past the kitchen. “All I get is asshole after asshole, and you've got the sweetest guy in town.”

Hera just shook her head. “Kanan is hardly the sweetest guy in town. I fully admit that I'm very lucky to have him, but there are plenty of other nice guys in town.”

“Well, tell me where they are all hiding then, because I certainly cannot find them.”

“You'll meet one some day.”

“Yeah, maybe when pigs fly.”

“Ladies!” came Dodonna's voice. “Are you going to get to work any time soon or just stand there and chit chat?”

Jyn and Hera both rolled their eyes before walking out into the front and heading towards the first occupied table they saw in their respective sections.

*****

“I think my favorite thing about Shara is her intelligence. I mean, you don't get to be a med student without being super smart.”

Cassian got the lock to their apartment undone and they headed inside, Kes still going on about Shara. “You're pretty super smart yourself.”

“But not the way that she is,” Kes said, flopping down on the sofa, “She's so beautiful and super smart and she's just perfect, Cassian. I wish she would acknowledge that I exist.”

Cassian walked over to his makeshift desk and slung his messenger bag down on the chair, opening it and pulling certain books out. “Have you ever even thought about talking to her? Or is that something that never crosses your mind?”

“Of course I've thought about talking to her,” Kes said. “Don't be ridiculous.”

“I'm being ridiculous?” Cassian laughed. “This is our fourth year at Yavin University and you still haven't said a single word to her. And I'm the one being ridiculous.”

“I have a very good reason for why I don't talk to her.”

“Oh, this I have got to hear.”

“It's simple,” Kes said. “I know what will happen when I do talk to her.”

“And what is that?”

“Rejection,” Kes said gloomily. “I'm not good enough for a girl like her. She's way out of my league.”

“You have no idea if she would reject you or not, and that's because you won't talk to her,” Cassian pointed out. “And never say you're not good enough for someone. My mother used to grab me around the back of my neck if I tried to say someone was better than me or I wasn't good enough for someone.”

“Well, doesn't that have something to do with the fact that you think everyone on the planet is better than you are?” Kes asked. “Isn't that part of the illness?”

Cassian sucked in a deep breath. “Thanks for reminding me of that, Kes.”

“I'm sorry, but isn't it the truth?”

“Yes, I generally find myself to be beneath everyone on this planet. It's something that I'm working through in therapy, and it's definitely not something I need brought up in a conversation that is about how you can't go up to a girl you like and ask her out.”

Kes held up his hands from the sofa. “Sorry! I'm an asshole!”

“You're not an asshole. You're a coward, but you're not an asshole.”

“Thanks Cassian,” Kes said, sighing heavily. “Anyway, I know she'll reject me. That's why I won't talk to her.”

“So if you aren't even going to try to talk to her, why are we going to this diner then?”

“Because I'm not yet ready to give up on my dream of one day actually having the courage to ask her out,” Kes said matter-of-factually. “Let me live in my fantasyland a little bit longer.”

“You're selling yourself short.”

“I'm really not.”

“How many boyfriends has Shara had since you began this infatuation with her?”

“None.”

“Then you can't possibly know if you are her type or not,” Cassian said, grabbing a couple of different books and putting them into his bag. “Go get your stuff ready. It's nearly seven so we should head out.”

Kes jumped up from the sofa and started walking towards his bedroom. “Give me a few minutes.”

Cassian closed his bag and took a deep breath, trying to calm his mind down. Yes, he was going to a place he'd never been before. Yes, there may be a lot of people in there that he'd never met before. But he didn't have to have a conversation with any of them except maybe the waiter or waitress, and if he was really struggling, he could have Kes do all the ordering for him. 

It was going to be alright.

It was going to be alright.

It was going to b—who was he kidding? This was a panic attack waiting to happen.

Cassian reached into the only drawer in his makeshift desk and pulled out a bottle of medication, quickly taking a pill from it and tossing it in his mouth, following it with a long sip from a bottle of water that was on the desk. He forced himself to take deep breaths once he'd finished swallowing, and he put the water back down on the desk and the medication into the messenger bag just in time to hear Kes emerge from his room.

Cassian picked up his messenger bag, slung it over his shoulder, and turned to face him, immediately groaning. “I said get your stuff ready, not dress like you're going to church.”

Kes looked down at his nice trousers, button-down shirt that was covered by a soft, dove egg colored sweater, and tie and shrugged. “So I want to look nice. So what?”

Cassian just started walking towards the door. “Kes, I swear to God, sometimes I just do not understand you. This is one of those times.”

“You love me and you know it!” Kes called out as Cassian walked out of the apartment. “One of these days you'll appreciate my genius!”

“Just get your ass out of the apartment and into the elevator,” Cassian called back. “We've got to get across town to this diner!”

*****

Leia Skywalker made her way into Rebel's Diner, heading straight to the counter where Hera was. “I hear you had a good day today.”

“Leia!” Hera beamed. “It was the first of one of our final tests. I had to do acrylic on another student's nails, and they came out so well! My instructor was super happy with me, and so was the girl whose nails I did. It was like the best day of school ever.”

Leia smiled at her. “Well, I'm happy for you, dearie, but I think I can make your day a little better.”

Hera laughed. “I'm not sure that's possible, but go on.”

“We had a bit of a shakeup at work today,” Leia said. “They aren't advertising it right now, but Coruscant is looking for a new trainee nail technician. I mentioned to the boss that I had a good friend just about to graduate from Lothal as a nail tech, and she has agreed to leave the position open until you graduate so that you can get a fair shot at it.”

Hera was staring at Leia in disbelief. “Are you saying you can get me a job at Coruscant?”

“I'm saying I can possibly get you a job at Coruscant.”

“Oh my God!” Hera was practically bouncing up and down with excitement. 

“What's all this fuss about?” Jyn asked as she approached. “Hey Leia.”

“Leia just said she might be able to get me a job at Coruscant!” Hera was still bouncing. “Can you like even imagine, Jyn? Coruscant is the best beauty shop in town.”

Jyn just smiled at her. “That's great, Hera. Really great.”

“What is not so great is your Facebook status,” Leia said, looking at Jyn. “I see it's back to single now. What happened?”

“Tivik is a cheating asshole, that's what happened,” Jyn said. “Simple as that.”

“He cheated on you? With who?” Hera asked.

“With Magva Yarro,” Jyn said, shaking her head. “They have a bunch of classes together since they're in the degree path, and, as Tivik put it, one thing led to another. Whatever. I'm done with him.”

“I'm sorry, Jyn. I knew you really liked this one,” Leia said.

“It doesn't matter if I liked him or not. It's over.” 

“You'll find a good guy soon, Jyn. You'll see.”

“I somehow doubt that, Leia.” Jyn looked up and saw a signal to her from one of her tables. “Excuse me.”

Leia turned back to Hera but the door to the diner opened and in walked Kes and Cassian. They immediately were seated at the big round table in the back corner, and Leia excused herself from Hera and walked over.

“Never see you in here, Dameron. What's up?”

Kes looked over at Leia and sighed. “Of course you're in here right now. Leia, Cassian. Cassian, this is Luke's sister Leia.”

“Ah, yes, I've heard of you,” Cassian said, nodding at her. “Nice to finally meet you.”

“Can't say I've heard much about you,” Leia said, pulling out a chair and sitting down. “That doesn't surprise me though. Luke barely speaks to me most days.”

“Luke's met Cassian a lot.”

“Figures. Speaking of Luke, have you see him today?”

Cassian started to get his school things out of his bag as Kes and Leia talked about Luke, but a waitress across the room caught his eye. Her deep brown hair was up in a messy bun, and if Cassian was honest with himself, she was the prettiest woman he'd ever seen. He shook himself out of the thought before he let himself dwell in it for too long. Pretty girls like her did not like computer nerds like him.

Leia's voice drifted back into Cassian's train of thought. “So whatcha doing in Rebel's, boys? This is so not your regular hangout.”

Before either of them could answer her question, Cassian noticed the pretty waitress approaching the table with menus. 

“Hiya fellas,” she said, and Cassian learned her name was Jyn as she was putting menus down in front of them. “Leia, you going to be joining them?”

“Please, Leia, join us,” Kes said. “Cassian won't mind, will you?”

“Not at all,” Cassian said. 

Leia looked at them for a moment before nodding. “Sure. I was supposed to meet up with Luke for dinner, but I suppose I can always just text him to come here.”

“Sounds like a plan to me then.”

“Alright then, I'll be back once Luke gets here,” Jyn said. “And tell him he still owes me that tip, Leia!”

“Will do!” Leia tucked her phone back in her purse and looked over at Kes. “So seriously, what are you doing here? You stick close to campus.”

Kes opened his mouth to answer but the words refused to come out because Shara had just walked into the diner and all of Kes's attention had gone straight to her. Cassian fought off a laugh and reached a hand out to push Kes's mouth closed, while Leia was following Kes's eyes to where they were firmly planted on Shara.

“Who's the girl?”

“Shara Bey,” Cassian said once it became apparent that Kes wouldn't answer Leia's question himself. “Med student at Yavin University. Kes has had a massive crush on her for pretty much the last four years.”

“I've never heard about this,” Leia said, laughing. “Please, do fill in the details.”

Cassian smiled at her. “I'm not entirely certain when the first sighting of Shara was, but early on in freshman year, he came back to the dorm completely covered in soda stains because he'd poured his drink down the front of him instead of down his throat. Ever since it's been Shara this, Shara that. We've gone to so many places around town just so he can see Shara. He's never had the courage to talk to her, and when he sees her, he usually goes into a state like he's in now.”

“So why won't he talk to her?”

“He's afraid she'll reject him. Which she might do, but because he'll never talk to her, he'll never find out.”

Leia looked over at where Shara was close to the table and waved at her. “Hello!”

Shara looked over at her, slightly confused. “Hi.”

“My friends here are from Yavin University, and they've guessed that you're from there too, and were wondering if you'd like to join them for a study party. With food, of course.”

Kes turned to Cassian with wide eyes. “What the hell is Leia doing?” he whispered.

“What you're too chicken to do,” Cassian answered, turning towards Shara. “You're more than welcome to join us.”

Kes grabbed onto Cassian's elbow hard, but Cassian just shook him loose. Shara thought about it for a moment before nodding. “Yeah, that sounds nice. Better than studying by myself.”

“That's what we were thinking,” Cassian said as Shara made her way to the table and sat down. “I'm Cassian.”

“Shara,” she said as she sat down across from Kes. 

Kes had practically melted into his chair by that point, just staring at her and not saying anything, so Cassian elbowed him sharply in the ribs. “Kes,” he burst out. “I'm Kes Dameron.”

Shara just smiled at him. “And you are?”

“Oh, Leia Skywalker. Not a Yavin University student, just a friend. It's nice to meet you Shara.”

Jyn walked back over to them and smiled. “Another one joining you?”

“Yes,” Shara said, and Jyn set a menu in front of her.

“Anyone want anything before Luke gets here?”

“A glass of water, if it's not too much trouble,” Cassian said quickly, too quickly, afraid that someone would notice.

“One glass of water coming right up,” Jyn said as she walked away. 

Cassian was relieved when no one commented on the speed of his voice, though a quick look at Kes told him that Kes knew. Of course Kes knew. Over the course of the last four years, Kes had learned practically everything about Cassian, but more importantly, he'd accepted everything about him too. For a person struggling with mental illness the way Cassian did, having a friendship like that was of more worth than all the money in the world.

Cassian let his gaze settle on Jyn once more, and he smiled, but the smile quickly faded.

Even if she was interested, which she probably wasn't, he would find some way to screw it up because that's just how his mind worked. It was going to take one hell of a person to be able to put up with his changing moods and mental states and he couldn't expect that from anyone.

He'd resigned himself to being alone for the rest of his life, and he knew that wasn't going to change just because he met a pretty waitress.

*****

Luke Skywalker walked into Rebel's Diner talking quickly on his phone, but he hung it up the moment he spotted his sister Leia and his friend Kes. He made his way to the table, quickly sat down next to Leia and smiled at Kes. “Hey Kes. Leia, you're buying since you invited me.”

Leia reached up and smacked him on the back of the head. “Is that any way to say hello to your sister?”

“It is when your sister invites you out to dinner,” Luke said, looking over at Kes. “Back me up on this one?”

Kes laughed and held up his arms in fake surrender. “I am staying out of this one.”

“What about you Cassian?”

Cassian just shook his head. “I've got three sisters, Luke. I learned a long time ago that they are always right.”

“You two are such wusses.” Luke turned to look at Shara. “I'm sorry, have we met yet?”

“I don't think so,” she said. “Shara Bey.”

Luke's eyes widened slightly, but not enough that Shara caught it. “I'm Luke. Leia is my sister.”

“You know, you could just say that you're my brother,” Leia pointed out. “It's the same thing.”

“It's not the same thing. You do people's hair in a salon. I am going to be the preeminent columnist for the Yavin Gazette. People will know you as my sister, not the other way around.”

“Oh you and this columnist bullshit,” Leia said, shaking her head. “You know they're going to start you out on the sports desk or something, right?”

“They are not,” Luke argued. “I've already had discussions with the editor-in-chief about it. He wants me to submit a sample column. If he likes it, they run it. If people like it, I've got a job as a columnist and I can quit this ridiculous school stuff.”

“Mama is not going to like it if you drop out of college.”

“Yeah, well, Papa didn't like it when you didn't even attempt to go.”

“I don't need a college degree to style people's hair.”

“And I don't need a college degree to write a column for the newspaper in this town.”

“Ah, Luke, I thought I heard your voice,” Jyn said as she walked up to the table, setting the glass of water in front of Cassian. “There you go. Now, what can I get everyone?”

Leia looked around at a bunch of undecided faces and decided to take charge. “A round of cheeseburgers and fries for everyone.”

Shara set her menu down and laughed. “How did you know their cheeseburgers are my favorite?”

“Lucky guess,” Leia said, laughing. 

Kes, in the meantime, was filing that piece of information away for future use.

“What about drinks?” Jyn asked.

“How about a couple pitchers of cola and a couple carafes of coffee, 'cause I think the students have a long night ahead of them,” Leia said.

“Alright, sounds good, guys. Be back with that soon.”

Cassian let his eyes linger on Jyn as she walked away but his attention was quickly turned from her to where Leia and Luke were arguing about his need for a college degree again. Eventually, Leia just gave up and turned to Shara.

“So, Shara, what do you study?”

“Oh, I'm a med student,” Shara said, smiling. “Well, I'm studying a bit of everything at the moment, but eventually I'm going to do the emergency medicine course. My mother's an ER doctor and I'd like to be one too.”

“Fascinating,” Leia said. “So much better than wanting to be a journalist.”

“I do not want to be a journalist,” Luke stressed. “I want to be a columnist. There is a major difference.”

“Yeah, and it's called accountability,” Leia said, turning to Kes. “What about you, Dameron? Still wanting to go down the creating software path?”

Kes nodded before he realized he needed to actually say something. “Well, yeah. I mean, it's what I've been going to school for for the past four years. It's also the only thing I've ever wanted to do. Besides, I have some ideas of what kind of software I'd like to be writing, so hopefully I'll be able to get a job in the right place and the right sector to be doing what I want.”

“What kind of software do you want to write?” Shara asked.

Cassian almost had to elbow Kes in the ribs again, but he started talking right before he went to move. “Um, I want to revolutionize the electronic medical records industry, actually. My father, he's a family practice physician back home, and I wrote the software for his office in collaboration with him. He's told me so many times how much more efficient it is than what he had before, and I've actually got to go back to Nebraska soon. The local hospital back home is interested in the software being implemented throughout their whole regional health network, which is a massive undertaking but will also be a massive paycheck for me, so I'm looking forward to it.”

Cassian looked over at him. “You haven't told me about that.”

“Sorry, just heard earlier today and other things were of more importance right after classes were over.”

Cassian resisted rolling his eyes while Shara smiled. “That sounds fascinating, Kes. I'd love to see an example of this software sometime. My mother is always complaining about the lack of continuity when it comes to the software the local doctors use compared to the hospital.”

“Before this conversation gets too technical for the rest of us,” Leia interjected, “what about you, Cassian?”

“Oh, I'm a computer science major like Kes. My thing is apps though. I get all my extra money from the sales and in-app purchases of this app I made for phones and tablets.”

“What app?” Luke asked, very interested. “You've never mentioned it before.”

“That's because I try to keep it quiet,” Cassian said. “I don't want everyone and their brother to know that I'm the guy behind Criminal Wars.”

Luke, Leia, and Shara all looked over at him in shock.

“You're the guy behind Criminal Wars?” Shara eventually said. “I don't know a single person who doesn't play that.”

“Which is exactly why I want it kept quiet,” Cassian said. “I didn't expect it to be such a big deal. But if everyone knew that I was the guy behind it, then the chances of me being left alone become zero. Everyone will want new features, new locations, new weapons, new crimes, etc. And I've only got so much time in between classes and following this fool all over town to work on it.”

Kes smacked Cassian on the shoulder. “Yeah, well, if it wasn't for this fool, you'd have no one to beta test the new features on.”

Leia laughed. “I'm impressed, fellas. I knew that Kes was a super genius computer nerd, but it sounds like you both not only are super genius computer nerds, but you've managed to turn the genius into big paydays.”

“I wouldn't call it a big payday,” Cassian said seriously. “Most people play the free version with the ads, and most people don't buy the in-app purchases. But I do make enough money that I don't have to work during school.”

“Why are either of you still in school?” Luke asked. “I mean, if I were either of you, I'd drop the hell out now.”

“We know you'd drop out, Luke, because that's what you're trying to do.”

“Oh, save it Leia. You are one to talk.”

“How about we change the subject?” 

“Great idea, Leia!” Luke exclaimed. “How about you tell us all about Han Solo?”

Leia's cheeks flushed pink and she ran her fingers through her long hair. “I have nothing to say about Han Solo.”

“Sure you don't.”

“Shut up, Luke.”

“That's exactly why I've run into you and him on three occasions having dinner after big games.”

“I said shut up Luke,” Leia said, turning to Shara. “What about you, Shara? Anyone special?”

“Single as one can be,” Shara said. “I haven't had a boyfriend since high school, as pathetic as that sounds.”

Kes let out a strangled noise and Cassian just rolled his eyes. “Kes and I are both sadly single and utterly pathetic.”

Jyn approached the table and starting taking pitchers and carafes off of the tray she was carrying. 

“You know,” Leia said. “Jyn here is single.”

“Absolutely not, Leia. No setting me up.”

“That is not what I was trying to do.”

“Yes it was, and I'm not letting it happen,” Jyn said, setting the last of the pitchers down and tucking the tray beneath her arm. “I am done with men for awhile because they are all assholes.”

“Cassian is like the antithesis of an asshole,” Kes pointed out. “I don't think there could be a nicer goody-two-shoes on the planet.”

“Thank you for making me sound like a character on a 1950s sitcom,” Cassian said, elbowing Kes in the ribs again. “Please ignore him.”

Jyn just laughed and started walking away. “I think I'll be the judge of that.”

Kes turned to Cassian and grinned. “Pretty waitress is single. You're single. I say go for it.”

Cassian just rolled his eyes. “It's not that simple and you know it.”

“You should just go for it,” Kes said.

“Oh, you're one to talk about going for it,” Cassian said, and Kes glared at him until he was sure that Cassian wasn't going to say anything about his pursuit of Shara.

“Well, well, well, look who has entered the building,” Luke said, and they turned to see Han Solo walk into the diner.

Leia immediately sat up straight and reached into her purse for a pocket mirror, quickly checking her appearance. Luke, noticing what Leia was doing, just groaned, making everyone else laugh.

Han approached the table, smiling at Leia. “May I join you?”

“Yes,” Leia said before anyone else could react, and Han pulled out a chair next to Shara and sat down.

Introductions quickly went around the table, and Cassian found himself looking at Han curiously. “Do I know you?”

“He's Han Solo, quarterback of the university football team. Of course you know him,” Kes pointed out.

“I've never watched a game of football in my life,” Cassian said, pondering it for a moment. “Wait, are you in Professor Îmwe's Advanced Topics in Programming Languages class at ten-thirty on Tuesdays and Thursdays?”

“That I am,” Han said.

“I knew I recognized you from somewhere,” Cassian said, smiling. “You ready for the exam on Tuesday?”

“As ready as I can be with the game this weekend,” Han said.

Kes just shook his head. “Wait a second. Are you telling me our star quarterback is a computer nerd?”

Han laughed. “Yup, definitely a computer nerd. When I'm done playing ball, I want to develop video games.”

Kes turned towards Leia. “He's a keeper.”

Leia's cheeks flushed again, and Luke just rolled his eyes.

“If you wanted to go to a game, I could get you tickets,” Han said. “Any friends of Leia's are friends of mine.”

“I'll consider it,” Cassian said as Jyn approached the table again.

“I see someone else has joined in. Do I need to get the cook to throw another cheeseburger on the grill?”

“That would be great,” Han said.

Jyn looked over at Leia and mouthed “he's really cute” as she walked away. Cassian noticed and turned towards Leia. “Do you know Jyn well?”

“Oh, she's Jyn, is she?” Kes asked.

“Shut up, Kes.”

Leia just rolled her eyes. “Boys, honestly. Yes, Jyn and I have known each other since freshman year of high school.”

“Jyn practically lived with us in high school,” Luke added.

“Why? Did something happen?” Cassian asked, concerned. He couldn't imagine something or someone hurting her, which alarmed him greatly since all he knew was her name and that she was a waitress.

“It was nothing terrible,” Leia said. “Her parents are just overbearing and more than a little critical of her life choices, but what would you expect with two psychiatrists for parents? She's their only child so she gets the brunt of everything from them. They hate that she didn't go to college, they hate that she works here, they hate where she lives. They hate pretty much everything about her life, to be honest. But Jyn loves it, and that's all that matters. She's a loyal friend and a great girl, but she's unfortunately had a string of serious assholes for boyfriends. She needs a nice guy, which is why I suggest you take Kes's advice and ask her out.”

“I'm not sure I'd be the right guy for that,” Cassian tried to say, but Kes cut him off.

“Cassian would be the perfect guy for that. We're just going to have to work on him a lot.”

“You make it sound like we're going to be doing this study dinner party every day,” Cassian said. “I'll probably never see her again.”

“Just for that, we're definitely doing this study dinner party at least twice a week,” Kes said. “Everyone else up for it?”

“I already come here two or three times a week to study,” Shara said, “so I'm all for it.”

“I suppose I can come study here,” Luke said. “So long as Leia isn't here all the time.”

Leia just rolled her eyes. “Is being seen in public with me that bad?”

“Yes, it's that bad,” Luke replied.

Leia huffed. “Just for that, you're definitely buying your own dinner.”

“I'll be glad to come and study with you all,” Han said. “Maybe you can help me understand some of the stuff from Îmwe's class, Cassian.”

“I'd be glad to,” Cassian said. “We can take a look at the other classes you're taking and see if Kes or I can help you any there.”

“That would be great. But no one ever pays for anything of mine. Imperial rules and all that. I don't want to break any.”

“Imperial rules are the most ridiculous rules on the planet,” Luke complained. “I mean, we can't even buy the guy a milkshake without it being a violation.”

“Yes, they are ridiculous, but I have to abide by them, so, no one buys me anything. Deal?”

“Deal,” Kes, Cassian, and Luke all said at the same time.

Jyn approached the table with Hera, both of them carrying trays full of food. “Alright everybody, here's your food. Who needs ketchup or mustard? What about mayonnaise?”

*****

It was nearing two-thirty in the morning when Cassian approached the counter where Jyn was wiping it down. “Hi.”

“Hiya fella. What can I get you?” Jyn asked, smiling at him.

“How are you this awake at this hour?”

“Used to it. Work this shift seven nights a week.”

“You never get a day off?”

“Only when I ask for one,” Jyn said. “It pays the bills.”

Cassian nodded in understanding. “Do you have any pie left?”

“Of course we do, darlin'. What kind would you like? Peach, blackberry, pumpkin, key lime, cinnamon apple.”

“Cinnamon apple,” Cassian said. “Apple pie is kind of my weakness.”

“I'll keep that in mind,” Jyn said, walking over to where the pre-cut pieces of pie were stored and pulling out a cinnamon apple one for Cassian. “I'll just add it to your bill.”

“About the bill,” Cassian said, pulling out his wallet. “I'd like to pay for it now. For everyone's. Except Han's. I don't want to get him in any kind of trouble with the Imperial committee.”

Jyn smiled at him. “Not an asshole and a generous fella at that. I have a feeling I could quite like you Cassian.”

“Well, apparently you're going to be seeing a lot more of me, so...” Cassian trailed off. How could he ask her out if she worked seven days a week? 

“Well, I shall be looking forward to it,” Jyn said, grabbing the bills off of the rack and heading towards the cash register. “You want to pay them separately or you want me to add them all up at once?”

“All at once,” Cassian said, handing over his credit card. “Put it all on that.”

Jyn looked at the credit card as she was ringing it up. “Captain A Industries. What's that?”

“That's my company,” Cassian said. “I make gaming apps for people's phones and tablets, though I'm looking to expand into some non-gaming apps as well.”

“That's pretty cool,” Jyn said, finishing the transaction and handing Cassian his card back. “You make a lot of money doing that?”

“Enough so that I don't have to work during school,” Cassian said. “And well, truthfully, quite a bit more than that, but I don't really want everyone to know that.”

“Well I would certainly hope that with an app like Criminal Wars you were making more than just enough to get by,” Jyn said, smiling at Cassian's shocked look. “I recognized the name once you said gaming apps. Criminal Wars is one of my favorites. And I am a paying customer too. I'm also a big fan of Waitress, if you'll believe it or not.”

“You spend all night being an actual waitress and then go home and play a game where you're a waitress?” Cassian laughed. 

“What can I say?” Jyn said. “I was born to be a waitress.”

Cassian put his wallet back in his pocket and shook his head. “I think you were born for a lot more than that, Jyn.”

“If you're going to start telling me I should go to college, let me stop you right there.”

“I wasn't,” Cassian said. “I just think you could do a lot more than just be a waitress.”

Jyn sighed and leaned up against the counter. “Well, there is this one thing that I've always wanted to do, but I've been discouraged from doing it so much that I'm almost afraid to tell anyone about it, let alone attempt it.”

“What's that?” Cassian asked.

Jyn played with the towel in her hand for a moment before looking up at him. “Alright, but not a word to anyone.”

“I won't tell a soul.”

“I want to be a writer,” Jyn said quietly. “It's what I do with my downtime. I write essays. I've never written anything novel length before, but I always say I'm going to try with some of my more complicated ideas.”

“I think that's great,” Cassian said, leaning in towards her. “You ever want someone to read any of it, I'll be glad to.”

“Really?” Jyn asked.

“Yeah. You let me read some of it, and I'll pay you to be a beta tester on Waitress. Kes hates that game, but he's my only beta tester.”

“I will think about it,” Jyn said, sliding Cassian's pie across the counter. “Kes and Luke have been staring at us for at least five minutes now.”

Cassian's eyes widened. “Thank you for the pie, Jyn.”

“Thank you for the encouragement, Cassian.”

Cassian picked up the plate and headed back to the table where everyone was, sliding into his chair and decidedly not looking at Kes or Luke. Kes was having absolutely none of that, however, and he stole the piece of pie from underneath Cassian's nose.

“Well?”

“Well what?” Cassian asked, reaching over and taking his pie back.

Luke reached out and stole the pie this time. “Did you ask her?”

“Ask her what?”

“Ignore them,” Shara said, reaching out for the pie and handing it back to Cassian. “They've got a bet going on when you and Jyn are going on a date.”

“Thank you Shara.” Cassian rolled his eyes. “You two need to stop making childish bets. Jyn and I are not going on a date.”

Luke groaned and Kes held out his hand, smiling triumphantly when Luke put a twenty dollar bill in it. 

“You bet that I wouldn't ask her?” Cassian asked, looking at Kes.

“Of course I did,” Kes said. “There's no way that you're asking someone like Jyn out. You know she's out of your league.”

“I don't think that's very fair to say about Cassian,” Leia chimed in from where she'd moved next to Han, leaning up against his side. “I hate that whole concept of someone being out of someone's league. Jyn and Cassian are perfectly capable of dating one another. But unlike some people, say a certain little brother sitting at this table, not everyone makes a move on a woman who is practically a stranger to them.”

“Han is practically a stranger to you!” Luke called out.

“I have been cutting Han's hair since he moved to Yavin. We're far from strangers. He's told me so much about himself, and I have responded in kind.” Leia turned and brushed a kiss along Han's shoulder. “You want to get out of here?”

“Yeah, it's probably time I should get to sleep. We've got a game tomorrow.”

“You've got a game tomorrow and you're in here at nearly three a.m.?” Cassian asked.

“It's an eight p.m. kickoff, so I'm good. I can sleep till at least ten,” Han said, slowly moving Leia off of him and standing up. “Well, I wasn't planning on studying tonight, but you've been such a help that I'm glad I did. I think I might actually be able to pass Îmwe's class now.”

“Glad to help,” Cassian said. “Come back any time.”

“Yeah, about that, are we doing specific days of the week for these study dinner parties? Because Fridays aren't always going to work for me.”

“How about Tuesdays and Thursdays,” Shara suggested. “That will work better with my clinicals. The only reason I came in tonight was because I have a big test on Monday in my psychology class.”

“Tuesdays and Thursdays are good with me,” Kes said, looking over at Cassian and pleading with him to say yes.

“They are fine with me also,” Cassian said, stretching. “I can always sleep after my morning classes on Wednesday and Friday.”

“I'll make them work,” Luke said. “But I might not be in school for much longer, so I don't know how many of these I'll be able to come to.”

“Shut up about dropping out of school, Luke. Mama and Papa will never let that happen,” Leia said, leaning into Han's embrace. 

“Yeah, well, if I get a job at the newspaper as a columnist, I see no reason for me to continue with journalism school since that's not what I want to be to begin with,” Luke said, standing up and starting to put things in his bag. “Ugh, the last thing I want to do is be a reporter.”

“Good luck with the column,” Cassian offered, and Luke smiled at him. 

“Thanks. We'll see how that goes.”

“Call me soon,” Kes said. “I've got some stuff to discuss with you.”

Luke sighed. “Kes, you've always got stuff to discuss with me. You should just come around to the dorm.”

“No thank you. I moved out the first chance I got for a reason,” Kes said. “Maybe you can come over while Cassian's at his night class on Monday.”

“Sounds good to me,” Luke said, zipping up his bag and slinging it onto his shoulder. “Till next week, everyone.”

“You better be at Mama and Papa's for Sunday dinner!” Leia called out as Luke walked away. “They will not be happy if you miss another one.”

“Shut up, Leia!”

Leia sighed as Luke disappeared out the door. “Idiot didn't even go pay his bill. I guess I am buying him dinner tonight.”

“Bills are taken care of, except for yours Han, because I didn't want you to get in trouble,” Cassian said as he stood up and started putting his things away in his messenger bag.

“Cassian, you didn't have to do that,” Leia said.

“I know, but I wanted to,” Cassian said, looking up and smiling at her. “I had a good payday today.”

“Let us at least leave the tip,” Leia said, but Cassian just shook his head. 

“Got it taken care of.”

Shara stood up and started to put her things away, but not before smiling at Cassian. “Thanks Cassian.”

“You're welcome.”

“I'm going to make that little brat thank you next time he sees you,” Leia said, sighing heavily. “It's so typical of him to just assume someone else has taken care of his bill.”

“It's really not a problem, Leia.”

“No, Cassian, it really is.”

“I'm going to go pay my bill and then head out,” Han said. “You want a ride home, Leia?”

“I would love one,” she said, trailing after him towards the counter. “Good night everyone!”

“Night,” they all called back on top of each other.

Shara looked at her watch and grabbed her keys out of her purse. “My roommates are probably wondering what in the hell has happened to me. I'll see you guys on Tuesday, alright?”

“Yeah, Tuesday,” Kes said as Shara walked away. As soon as she was out the door, he turned towards Cassian and smacked him on the shoulder. “She knows who I am now!”

“Which means you can't be caught stalking her across campus,” Cassian said seriously. “That creeps me out, so I'm sure it would creep her out.”

“But Cassian, she knows who I am now! I've got a foot in the door.”

“Then do everyone a favor and actually do something about it,” Cassian said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his wallet. He took out a hundred dollar bill and stuck it in between the salt and pepper shakers.

Kes let out a low whistle. “A hundred bucks? You really like the waitress, don't you?”

Cassian smiled genuinely. “Yeah, Kes, I think I do. Now let's get out of here.”

*****

“What are you working on?” Kes asked from the sofa as Cassian worked away on his laptop in the chair. “A new Criminal Wars update?”

“No, I'm working on Waitress, actually.” Cassian typed some more code before hitting save. “I do have a fairly loyal Waitress fan base you know.”

“I know you do, and you know how much I hate that game,” Kes said. “Ugh, playing being a waitress. I was a waiter back home for about ten minutes before I quit. It's just not for me.”

“Well, that's fine, because you might not be beta testing this feature.”

Kes gave Cassian a funny look. “I'm your only beta tester.”

“You might not be anymore.”

Kes sat up straight. “Who could you possibly have lined up to be a beta tester?”

“Someone who really likes Waitress.”

“Cassian, none of our friends like Waitress. They think Waitress is a waste of time.”

“Well, I met someone who doesn't think Waitress is a waste of time, who really enjoys the game, and who might end up being my beta tester. So I'm writing a new feature for Waitress that they can beta test if they decide that's what they want to do.”

Kes studied him. “Who could you have possibly met that likes Waitress? Wait, not Han? Don't tell me Mr. Hot Shot Quarterback likes Waitress. Oh God, that's hysterical.”

“It's not Han,” Cassian said seriously. “Though he did text me this morning to tell me there will be tickets at the box office for you and I so we can go to the game tonight.”

“Sweet, free tickets to a Droids game. It might be useful knowing him.”

“He is becoming our friend, not our ticket dealer,” Cassian stressed. “And I'm still not sure I want to go. I'm not going to understand anything about the game. I don't even know what a quarterback does.”

“How can you be this naive about football? Honestly?”

“My dad's more of a baseball guy. Baseball is always on in the house.”

“What about your brothers-in-law? Surely they have to be into football.”

Cassian saved his work again and looked up. “Thomas was a pitcher with a big league future until he dislocated his elbow in a car crash he and Martha were in during their junior year. Elliott's big thing is basketball. He's a big Banthas fan, which I've been told means a lot of misery.”

Kes just shook his head. “I cannot believe that you grew up in a house that didn't watch football and ended up with two brothers-in-law who don't like football either.”

“It happens,” Cassian said, turning back to his work. “You're going to make me go to the football game, aren't you?”

“Of course I am!” Kes explained. “Do you know how hard it is to get tickets to a Droids game? The student availability sells out in like ten minutes, and season tickets have a waiting list so long that people born before 2009 aren't going to get them in their lifetimes. Besides, these tickets will be in the players' section, where all the family and friends sit. That means they're good seats. I'm sure Leia will be there, possibly Luke.”

“I'm not sure I want to be seated next to them if all they are going to do is argue.”

“They're brother and sister. What do you expect?” Kes asked.

“My sisters and I don't argue like that.”

Kes just shook his head. “Well, we've just established that your family is weird, so I'm not surprised by that.”

Cassian saved his work and looked up at Kes. “I'm sure your family is a big football family. That's why I've never seen you turn on the television and watch a game, let al0ne try to go to one in person.”

“My brothers both played in high school,” Kes said. “My sisters were all cheerleaders.”

“And what did you do?”

“Well, I was in the marching band, of course,” Kes said, leaning back against the sofa. “I played the tuba.”

“Of course you did,” Cassian said, sighing heavily. “Are you going to leave me alone so I can work on this or are you going to keep pestering me about this damn football game?”

“We've got to go, Cassian. Han left us tickets. Imagine how he'll feel if we don't use them.”

Cassian bit back a laugh. “And since when do you care about Han's feelings?”

“Since you told me he left us free tickets to a Droids game!”

Cassian took one look at his laptop, made sure everything was saved, and shut it. “Alright, fine, we'll go to the game. What do I even wear to a football game?”

“Leave that to me,” Kes said, jumping up. “You go take a shower and put on some jeans. I'll be right back.”

Kes practically ran out of their apartment, so Cassian set his laptop on the coffee table and did as he was told. By the time he was out of the shower and back in his bedroom, there was a black sweatshirt with gold lettering lying on his bed with a pair of his jeans. The lettering read The Blackshirts with Yavin Droids in smaller print underneath it. 

“What the hell is The Blackshirts?” Cassian called out.

“The nickname for the team!” Kes called back.

“I thought the nickname for the team was the Droids?”

“It is, but The Blackshirts is another nickname based on their uniforms. You'll see! Just get dressed!”

Cassian set his apprehension to the side for the moment and got dressed, looking at himself in the full-length mirror that had been on the wall since before he moved in. But the apprehension didn't stay to the side for long. This was a terrible, awful, horrendously bad idea and he knew it. It was obvious from the lack of color in his face. “Hey Kes? How many people fit into this stadium?”

“Capacity is ninety thousand, and the Droids have a sellout streak that goes back to like the seventies. Why?”

Cassian started to find it hard to breathe, and he reached out to catch himself on his dresser. Ninety thousand people. He was going to be among ninety thousand people and, oh God ninety thousand people, and him there in the middle of it. He closed his eyes and felt himself fall down to the floor, and it didn't matter that that hurt because he couldn't breathe, he couldn't breathe, oh God he was dying because he couldn't breathe.

“Cassian.” Kes's voice cut through the haze surrounding him. “Breathe, Cassian. Just breathe.”

Cassian opened his mouth and suddenly his lungs filled with desperately needed air, and he took a few moments just breathing in and out of his mouth before slowly opening his eyes to find Kes hovering over him. “Med. In the nightstand drawer.”

Kes nodded and immediately moved to get it while Cassian tried to bring himself back to a normal state of mind. Soon Kes was back with a medication bottle and a bottle of water. “How many do you need?”

“Just one,” Cassian got out, and then there was a pill on his tongue and glorious water washing it down and he closed his eyes again, slowly letting his breathing return to normal before opening them again. “Thanks, Kes.”

“Cassian, I am so sorry. I never even thought that the crowd might make you have a panic attack and I am just so, so sorry. We don't have to go, it's fine.”

Cassian just shook his head. “Help me up?”

Kes helped Cassian off the floor and Cassian looked in the mirror again, pleased to see that some color had returned to his cheeks. He took a few deep breaths before turning to Kes. “How much do I owe you for the sweatshirt?”

“It's nothing, don't worry about it.”

“I am paying you for the sweatshirt.”

“You know you can take it off now that we're not going to the game. I won't mind.”

Cassian just shook his head and made his way towards his bed, sitting down and reaching for his shoes. “Oh, we're going to the game.”

Kes's eyes widened. “Are you sure that's a good idea?”

“No,” Cassian said, “ but we're going anyway. I'm putting that bottle in my pocket, and you have to make sure there's something to drink besides beer, and I think I'll be fine.”

Kes nodded quickly. “I can do that. I can definitely do that. Are you absolutely sure?”

“Kes, stop asking me that and get yourself dressed. You're only in your boxers.”

Kes glanced down at himself before yelping and dashing back into his room. Cassian finished putting on his shoes and stood up, walking out into the kitchen area and finding another bottle of water. He drank the whole thing before Kes emerged from his room, decked out in head to toe black and gold. Cassian bit back a laugh. “I have to be seen with you like that?”

“Just you wait,” Kes said. “We're going to stop by the booth that paints our faces before we get into the stadium.”

“I am not doing that,” Cassian said, following Kes as he started to walk towards the door. 

“Oh, yes you are,” Kes said. “I'm determined that you're going to enjoy this.”

*****

Jyn looked up as Hera and Kanan walked in to the diner, shaking her head. “I thought you two were supposed to be on a date.”

“We are on a date,” Kanan said, pulling out a chair at the counter for Hera to sit in. “My beautiful girlfriend insisted we come here.”

“You should go see that Baze Malbus movie,” Hera said as she sat down. “It's really good.”

“I don't really go see movies,” Jyn said. “I'll keep an eye out for it on Holonet though.”

“Jyn, you really need to get out of here and have some fun,” Kanan said, sitting down next to Hera. “I hear you got enough tip money last night to splurge on something.”

Jyn glared at Hera for a moment before Hera shrugged. “What? You didn't say I couldn't tell him.”

“I don't even know if it's him that left me the tip or one of the others,” Jyn said. “And when they come in here again, I'm figuring out who it was and giving them the money back.”

“Jyn!” 

“I'm serious Hera. I may be a damn good waitress, but I don't deserve a hundred dollar tip.”

“I happen to disagree with you,” came Cassian's voice, and Jyn looked up to see Cassian's face was painted half black and half gold. 

“I take it you went to the football game.”

“I take it you think you didn't deserve that tip.”

Jyn just shook her head and reached into her pocket, taking the money and holding it out at him. “I don't.”

“I'm not taking it back, so you're just going to have to keep it,” Cassian said, sitting down at the counter next to Hera. “Hera, lovely to see you again.”

“Same to you Cassian. Oh, this is my boyfriend Kanan. Kanan, Cassian.”

They both said hello to each other before Cassian turned to Jyn. “You wouldn't happen to have another piece of that cinnamon apple pie, would you?”

“Coming right up, you rich bastard.”

Cassian laughed. “Now that you're wrong about.”

“So I was telling Kanan that you're the genius behind Captain A Industries. You make so many of our favorite games, Cassian. Where do you find the time?” Hera asked.

“I don't sleep well,” Cassian answered. “So I have a lot of time at night to work on the apps.”

“I told Hera I was surprised that a bigger corporation hasn't tried to buy you out.”

“Oh, they have tried. I just turn them down. My company is completely private, so it's not like they can buy up stock and force me out. I don't want to part with my company. I want to grow it.”

Jyn came back and set a piece of pie in front of Cassian, and on the plate was the hundred dollar bill. Cassian just sighed and picked it up, leaning forward and tucking it into the top pocket of Jyn's apron. “That money is yours, Jyn. Stop trying to give it back to me.”

Jyn realized she was fighting a lost cause, so she moved on. “Where's Kes?”

“He stayed at the stadium with Leia and Luke waiting for Han, and then they're going to come here. He was going to try to round up Shara too, but we didn't see her at the game. I'm totally shocked that he's actually going to proactively talk to Shara.”

Jyn laughed. “Exactly how bad does he have it for her?”

“He's practically been stalking her around Yavin since the first time he saw her second semester freshman year. He never said a word to her until last night though.”

Hera burst out laughing. “That reminds me of you and I in high school, baby.”

“Well, it wasn't really the social norm for a junior to date a freshman, you know,” Kanan said, putting an arm around Hera's shoulders. “But I finally said screw it and asked you out. Best decision I've ever made.”

“So, Kanan, are you a student at the university?” Cassian asked as he cut into his piece of pie.

“No, I work as a service writer at Jarrus's Auto Service. It's my grandfather's. He'll pass it down to my father, and then my father will eventually pass it down to me. I hate being a service writer though. All I do is write up what needs to be done to the cars, not actually work on them. I really want to work on cars.”

“He's really good at that,” Hera said. “Remember that awful noise my car was making, Jyn? He fixed it in about five minutes with a bar of soap.”

Cassian looked confused. “A bar of soap fixed a noise in a car?”

“You rub it against the underside of the belt that's causing the noise,” Kanan said. “It gives it enough lubricant to stop the noise, and it's also good for the rubber of the belt.”

“Interesting,” Cassian said, glancing over to the door when it opened. “Hey Shara!”

Shara made her way over to them, sitting down next to Cassian. “I can tell you went to the game.”

“Yeah, Kes practically dragged me,” Cassian said. “Did you go?”

“Nah, sold my ticket for twice the price earlier today. Didn't feel like going after that all nighter I pulled last night. I needed sleep badly.”

“All nighter?”

“Yeah, and it's entirely your fault,” Shara said, laughing. “I started playing Waitress when I got home and I couldn't stop. I'm up to level ninety-eight already.”

“Isn't Waitress the funnest game?” Jyn asked, grinning. “I cannot wait for the next section to unlock.”

“It's coming soon,” Cassian said. “Just need my beta tester to see what she thinks.”

Jyn gave him a smile. “Well, I'm waiting for a beta myself on some of my essays for that book I'm always talking about writing, Hera. I'm actually going to let someone else read them. It's terrifying.”

Cassian reached out and covered Jyn's hand with his. “It's only terrifying if you let it be. You could choose to be happy that someone wants to read them.”

“You sound like my parents,” Jyn laughed. 

“I sound like my therapist,” Cassian laughed. “She's going to be so proud of me for going to the game today and only having three panic attacks in the process.”

Everyone's gaze turned to concern. “Panic attacks?” Jyn eventually asked.

“Yeah, panic attacks,” Cassian said. “I don't do well in unfamiliar situations or with people I don't know. I was struggling last night, but I made it through and now I have all of you as new friends. But the thought of being in a stadium with ninety thousand other people, that was enough to do it.”

“Do you need your meds?” came Kes's voice, and Cassian turned to see Kes screech to a halt next to him. “I'm so sorry, I should have thought that you would need your meds and I kept them in my pocket.”

“Kes,” Cassian said, holding up a hand. “I don't need my meds. I was just telling them about the panic attacks.”

Kes's expression changed from concern to shock. “You were telling them about the panic attacks?”

“Yes.”

“Who are you and what have you done with Cassian Andor?”

Cassian laughed. “Just because I don't talk about all of it doesn't mean I don't talk about parts of it. I don't care if they know I have panic attacks. I'm surely going to have one in front of them someday. At least this way they'll know what's going on.”

Kes's gaze faded back to concern. “Cassian...”

“It's inevitable, Kes. I can't do anything about it. I can't control them or when they happen. I can only ride them out and take that med to calm me down.” 

By this time, Leia, Luke, and Han had gathered behind Kes, and they were all peering at Cassian with concern. 

“Seriously, all of you, stop it. I am perfectly fine right now, and when I'm not, you all will be very much aware of it. There are some parts of myself that I'm going to keep very private, and you're just going to have to respect that. But some parts of me I'm more open with. And this is one of them.”

Shara put her hand on Cassian's shoulder. “He's right, everyone. Leave him alone. Nothing we can do can stop the panic attacks. We can only help him get through them.”

“Right now,” Cassian said, “we are having victory pie on me. I'd say you were brilliant today Han, but truthfully I'm not sure what all happened except for the fact that we won. So, victory pie. Pick out your piece and I'm buying. No exceptions but Han.”

Everyone watched as Cassian turned back to the counter and cut into his piece of pie with his fork, and after a moment, they started to order pieces of their own. Cassian noticed that Kes took the seat next to Shara and was slowly making conversation with her. Leia was chatting away with Hera and Kanan while Han and Luke were reliving plays from the game.

Jyn came to a stop in front of Cassian and she smiled. “You good?”

“I'm good,” Cassian said, smiling at her. “I've got to get home and finish coding the new feature for you to beta test for me.”

“I've got a stack of my essays printed out. I think they're probably horrible, but I'm going to let you read them anyway.”

Cassian laughed slightly. “I highly doubt they're horrible.”

“I want you to promise me that you'll tell me the truth,” Jyn said seriously. “If they're awful, I want to know that they're awful.”

“I promise,” Cassian said. “Same goes for you. If that feature sucks, I want to know about it.”

Jyn held out her hand. “Deal.”

Cassian reached out and shook it. “Deal.”

*****

“So you and Shara had quite the conversation at the diner last night,” Cassian said as Kes flopped down onto the sofa in his pajamas.

“She's amazing,” Kes said, his voice a little hazy. “She had some great ideas of things to implement into the software too. Stuff that emergency room doctors would really need. So I've got to build that into the interface now, plus work on getting all the web stuff developed so the patients can access their medical records and test results from their personal computers.”

“I wasn't talking about software suggestions.”

Kes looked over at Cassian and grinned. “She likes Bodhi Rook.”

“She likes Bodhi Rook.”

“I love Bodhi Rook.”

“I know that. I think you've played his latest album on repeat for the last three months.”

Kes was going to give a witty retort until he realized that Cassian was right, he probably had. “Anyway, Bodhi Rook is coming to play the Arts & Events Center in a month.”

Cassian nodded and turned back to his laptop. “As you have reminded me many times.”

“Because I thought you were going to be the one I went with.”

“Yes. I had my earplugs ready.”

Kes huffed. “Cassian, you like Bodhi Rook's music.”

“I do, but I do not like the noise of concerts.”

“Well, it doesn't matter because now you don't have to go.”

Cassian looked up from his laptop. “Did you actually ask her if she wanted to go with you?”

“It was more of a 'hey, I have an extra ticket to Bodhi Rook if you want to go' than a 'will you go with me to this concert as my date' sort of thing.”

“Kes, that was your chance.”

“I know it was, but I panicked.” Kes grabbed a throw pillow and stuck it underneath his head. “What do you do when you have the girl you've wanted for so long right there in front of you and you think and maybe, just maybe, she might say yes if you ask her out?”

“I would probably have asked her out,” Cassian said. “But you panicked.”

“Oh you so would not have just asked her out,” Kes said. “You would have asked Jyn out by now if you would have.”

“I have known Jyn for all of three days. You have been chasing after Shara for nearly four years. Big difference.”

“But you want to ask Jyn out.”

Cassian saved his work and closed his laptop. “I don't know if I do or not. She's nice, and she's pretty, but she's got psychiatrists for parents and I'm worried that it would be more of a therapist-patient relationship than an actual one.”

“You think she's going to turn into Ahsoka.”

Cassian sighed heavily. Ahsoka Tano was someone who still weighed heavy on his mind. “Look, Ahsoka and I had a decent relationship, but we viewed it from two very different angles. She thought I was a great boyfriend, and I felt like the psychology student in her was always psychoanalyzing me. I deeply regret ever telling her about the schizoaffective disorder because she never treated me the same after that, and I feel like that ruined a relationship that could have been quite special and long lasting.”

“Jyn is not Ahsoka. She's not a psychology student, and from what I got out of Leia about her when you weren't around, Jyn is the perfect kind of girl for you. She's strong and independent but at the same time she'll be the kind, caring, loving person that you need when you get down.”

Cassian sighed heavily. “I've barely even told you about the schizoaffective disorder, and you want me to go tell this waitress I've known for three days my entire life story.”

“I'm not saying you should do it all at once,” Kes said. “And I still would like to hear more about it myself.”

Cassian set the laptop down on the coffee table and grabbed a throw pillow off the sofa, wrapping his arms around it and keeping it close to his chest. “I was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder when I was seventeen. I'd known since I was a kid that there was something different about me. I never quite fit in, I freaked out when I was around too many people, I was always sad and wanting to be alone. My mother took me to medical doctor after doctor trying to figure out what was wrong with me until one of them suggested that we go have a psychiatric evaluation at the Children's Hospital.

“So we did that and I had to go through these psychiatric tests. I was completely and totally honest with my answers, because I wanted to know the truth. We came back a week later and the psychologist said I had schizoaffective disorder. I was very nearly the bipolar-type of schizoaffective, but not quite. I'm sure you've looked up what schizoaffective disorder is by now.”

“I have, yes, but I'd like to hear your description of it,” Kes said.

Cassian squeezed the pillow tighter. “The way it was first described to me was that it is abnormal thought processes and deregulated emotions. It's the diagnosis you get when you don't meet the criteria for schizophrenia but you have schizophrenic tendencies, and when you don't meet the criteria for bipolar disorder, but you have bipolar tendencies. Add into that the depression and you get a whole gigantic ball of suck.”

“A gigantic ball of suck. I'll have to remember that one.”

“You know the cycles I go through. Depression, mania, paranoia, deluded thoughts, hallucinations. I'm surprised you put up with me.”

Kes shifted around so he was looking at him. “Cassian, when we first got paired up in our dorm room, I knew immediately that you were going to be a great friend, probably the best friend I'm ever going to have. I saw you have your first panic attack on the second night we were there, and then you slowly started letting on what was going on with you, and I knew then that not only were you going to be a good friend, but that you needed a good friend too. And I have been determined to be that good friend ever since.”

“You're great at it,” Cassian murmured.

“But we can't live in an apartment together forever. I don't even know if we're going to end up living in the same city as each other once college is done. I need to know that you're with someone that can love you for who you are and help you when you need it the most. And of all of the candidates currently on offer, I think Jyn is a great place to start.”

“Maybe because Jyn is the only candidate right now.”

“Oh that girl in Intro to Computer Communication Networks would totally go out with you.”

“Sabine? You think Sabine Wren would go out with me?”

“'Oh, Cassian, would you mind lending me a pen, I can't find mine,'” Kes imitated. “'Oh, Cassian, thanks so much for lending me your notes. Yours are just so much more detailed than mine ever end up being.'”

Cassian took the pillow and threw it at Kes. “Shut up.”

“Trust me, Sabine Wren would totally go out with you. Hell, she'd probably just jump at the chance to have sex with you.”

Cassian shook his head. “I am not thinking about that. I don't even know why she's a computer science major. She hardly knows how to use her laptop.”

Kes laughed aloud. “Alright, so in between Sabine and Jyn, we're settling on Jyn.”

“I've known her for three days, Kes. Three days.”

Kes sighed. “Technically I've only known Shara for three days.”

“Technically you've been in love with her for four years.”

“Good point,” Kes said, tossing the pillow back to Cassian. “I guess my point is that you need to go for it. Don't be an idiot like me who pathetically waits for four years.”

“I'm not going to wait for four years. Hell, I probably won't even be here in four years. But I'm going to wait until I'm ready. I cannot have another Ahsoka situation.”

Kes groaned. “She's not Ahsoka.”

“Yeah, well, right now she's nothing more than a waitress too. I have to know her better, Kes. You know I'm telling you the truth.”

Kes looked over at Cassian and saw the seriousness in his eyes. “Alright, alright, I'll lay off. But at least give the girl your number or something.”

“Kes.”

“Cassian.”

“Shut up.”

*****

Cassian walked into Rebel's on Friday night, smiling when he saw Jyn at one of the tables. He walked over to the counter and sat down, Hera coming over to him.

“How are you tonight, Cassian?”

“Good. How are you?”

“Wishing my shift was over,” Hera said, laughing. “I've only been here for two hours too.”

“That's the bad thing about work. That's why I try to keep my own hours.”

“Lucky bastard. Can I get you anything?”

“Piece of cinnamon apple pie?”

“Coming right up. I'll have Jyn bring it to you. I'm sure you're here to talk to her anyway.”

Cassian smiled. “Is it that obvious?”

“Oh please, everyone has a bet going,” Hera said, walking away. “I've got November sixth, so if you're feeling helpful...”

“I'm not helping you win that ridiculous bet, Hera,” Cassian said as a piece of cinnamon apple pie was put in front of him. He looked up to see Jyn standing there, bright smile on her face. 

“Hiya fella.”

“Good evening, Jyn.”

“It's eleven-thirty, Cassian. I think we're past evening.”

“I know, but I can't greet people with good night. Good night is such a goodbye phrase.”

“Good point,” Jyn said, looking at the clock. “Hey Dodonna, I'm taking my break now!”

“No more than fifteen minutes, and I mean it!”

Jyn just rolled her eyes and reached under the counter, bringing up a manila envelope. “Alright, they're in here. Treat them carefully, but no need to return to me. And honest thoughts, remember. We made a deal.”

“I promise to treat them carefully and be thoroughly honest with you.”

Jyn smiled. “So how do I download the game?”

“You don't,” Cassian said, reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out two phones. “The beta version of the app is on both of these. Play with the account logged in, not your own, and play on both of them. Tell me about any glitches, reveals not happening, etc. And then of course, tell me if you like the feature and the new levels. I can handle it if it's all shit and I need to start from scratch. Also any ideas you have would be great.”

Jyn took the phones from him and laughed. “The man with three phones. You gave me a hundred dollar tip. I should have known.”

“You deserved that tip,” Cassian said. “I hope you're putting the money to good use.”

“I haven't spent a penny of it,” Jyn said. “Trying to figure out what to do with it.”

“Well, I hope you spend it on something wonderful for yourself.”

“Thinking about it.”

Cassian laughed. “Alright, no clues on what you're using it for. I get it.”

Jyn leaned up against the counter as Cassian cut into his pie. “You know, you should do a pie level on Waitress. You certainly enjoy enough pie.”

“That's a good idea,” Cassian said, setting down his fork and pulling another phone from his pocket, quickly making himself a note on it. “I think I'm going to have to start employing someone to make the graphics. I think mine are pretty awful.”

“They are not!” Jyn admonished. “They're great. They fit a restaurant setting perfectly.”

Cassian brought his fork to his mouth, but stopped before he ate the bit of pie. “If you say so.”

“I do,” Jyn said as Cassian ate. “Hey Cassian?”

“Hm?” Cassian mumbled around a mouthful of pie.

“I know you only came in because of Kes and his pursuit of Shara, but I'm glad you keep coming back.”

Cassian nodded as he swallowed. “Well, the pie is amazing. The waitress who brings it to me isn't too bad either.”

Jyn blushed prettily only to spin around quickly when Dodonna yelled her name. “That was not fifteen minutes!”

“Don't care, your order's up, that means break is over!”

“He is the boss from hell,” Jyn mumbled before walking towards where her order was. 

Cassian quickly finished his piece of pie and left money for the pie and gave Jyn a tip before slipping out of the diner unseen by anyone except Hera. Hera made her way over to where Cassian's empty plate was, collecting the couple of credits for the pie and taking it to the register. She went back to clear the plate away and found five hundred dollar bills sitting beneath it with a small note addressed to Jyn. 

Hera waited with baited breath until Jyn finally made it back around the counter, and she hurriedly showed her what Cassian had left her. Jyn's eyes went wide as she saw the money, and she quickly unfolded the note and read it.

_I have a feeling whatever you're saving up for is expensive, so here's your tip plus your payment for being my beta tester. It's up to you to decide how much is which. You blush very prettily, by the way. See you Tuesday. - C_

“What does it say?” Hera asked excitedly. 

Jyn held it close to her chest, smiling. “I think it's just going to stay between me and him.”

“Oh come on,” Hera said, putting her hands on her hips. “Not even a little something?”

Jyn looked down at the note again, feeling her cheeks flush. “He thinks I blush prettily, okay? Is that enough for you?”

Hera squealed and wrapped Jyn up in an impulsive hug. “He sounds wonderful, Jyn. I'm so happy for you.”

Jyn extracted herself from Hera's embrace and grabbed the money, stuffing it and the note in her pocket. “Nothing to be happy about yet, Hera. He hasn't asked me out.”

“The spark is there,” Hera said. “You can admit that at least.”

Jyn let her fingers dance over the note in her pocket. “Yeah, the spark is there.”

Hera squealed until Dodonna yelled that her order was up, so she walked away from Jyn. Jyn grabbed a towel and was wiping down the counter when she felt a vibration in her pocket. She pulled out the two phones, saw a notification on one of them, and put the other back in her pocket. She quickly unlocked the phone and read the text.

_I forgot to mention that you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen._

Jyn grinned and slipped the phone back into her pocket, wondering how long she was going to have to wait for Cassian to ask her to dinner or a movie or anything, really.

*****

“You remember how Cassian was when you met him a month ago? Happy, talkative Cassian? He's gone. He's now depressed, isolating Cassian, and I don't know how to shake him out of it,” Kes said as he walked with Shara towards the Arts & Events Center for the Bodhi Rook concert. “He's not going to come to the diner, I know that much. Jyn's going to be so worried about him.”

Shara tugged her coat closer to her body to ward off the chill and she looked over at Kes. “Not that I don't care about Cassian, because I do and if he's like that then I'm worried about him, but can we concentrate on our date?”

Kes stopped walking, and Shara took a couple of steps more before she turned around to see him. “Kes?”

“You consider this a date?”

“Was I not supposed to?”

“No,” Kes said, walking up to her. “No, no, no, I totally wanted it to be a date! I just thought with the way I asked you that you would think it wasn't a date. And I was afraid to use the word date while we were here in case you really didn't think this was a date and I'm talking in circles here, aren't I?”

“Kes, relax. It's a date,” Shara said, reaching out and taking his hand in hers. “We're on a date.”

Kes smiled at her and they began to walk again, their hands firmly holding each other's. They were almost to the Arts & Events Center when Kes stopped them. “Wait, wait, I have to tell you something before we go in there since this is a date.”

Shara turned to look at him. “Kes, whatever it is, it's fine.”

“I've basically been stalking you for four years,” Kes said quickly. “Not like in a bad way, but more in an I really wanted to know you and wanted you to know me and you're so beautiful and I thought you were so far out of my league and Cassian kept trying to get me to stop because it creeped him out and if it creeped him out then it would probably creep you out, but now that we're here and we're doing this, I think you deserve to know how pathetic I am. I'll leave now.”

Kes started to walk away but Shara still had a hold of his hand, and she stopped him from getting far. “Kes, come here.”

Kes stood at arm's length for a moment before coming closer. “Are you going to call the cops on me?”

“No, I am not going to call the cops on you,” Shara said, shaking her head. “Do you know when I first noticed you?”

“At the diner.”

“No,” Shara said. “I first noticed you in the student union about four years ago. And I thought you were incredibly handsome. And then you kept showing up where I was. I thought it was a happy coincidence. Every time I would get ready to go over and approach you, something would happen with my friends, or you and Cassian or Luke would leave, and I felt like I missed my chance because I didn't even know your name. 

“Leia told me that the only reason you were at the diner that night was because you overheard me say it in the student union. Well, the only reason I said it in the student union was because I knew you were within earshot. And I got there, and you were there, and there was Leia, asking me to join your table, and I felt like I finally had my chance. And you were funny and charming and a little flustered at the beginning, but you were better than I hoped you would be. And here we are, on a date. So everything that happened before that night in the diner doesn't matter to me.”

Kes took a few moments to take that all in and then pulled Shara flush against him and kissed her. Shara laughed into the kiss, wrapping her free arm around Kes's neck. When they finally broke apart, Kes was looking at her in adoration. “You mean we could have done this four years ago?”

“Yes,” Shara said, letting her fingers tangle in Kes's long, brown hair. “But let's not dwell on that. Let's just enjoy the fact that we have it now.”

Kes pulled Shara into another kiss, before breaking their embrace. “Alright, first we're going to this Bodhi Rook concert.”

“And we're picking one of his songs as our song,” Shara said. “It's only fitting.”

“It's only fitting that I fell in love with you,” Kes sang as they started to walk. 

“Because there could be no one else for me after you,” Shara finished, and they turned and looked at each other.

“No One Else For Me After You,” they said at the same time.

“That's our song,” Shara said, grinning.

“That's our song,” Kes said, tugging on her hand. “Come on, let's get inside. It's cold out here.”

Shara laughed as they semi-ran to the building. She hadn't been that happy in a long time.

*****

Cassian walked into the diner, envelope full of essays in his hand. The counter was full so he made his way over to the table that had become theirs, taking off his coat and slinging it around the back of the chair. He set the envelope of essays in front of him and looked around the busy restaurant, smiling when he saw Jyn across the room.

He felt like he'd been allowed to see a special part of Jyn's soul by reading those essays. 

Jyn eventually made it over to his table, sitting down and staring at the envelope before letting her eyes meet Cassian's. “They're awful, aren't they?”

“No,” Cassian said honestly. “They are not. They're an insight into your soul, so personal that I can almost picture myself in the situation you've written about. I think they would make a fantastic book. I really do.”

Jyn smiled. “Thanks, Cassian. It really means a lot.”

“Glad I could be of assistance,” Cassian said, smiling when Jyn pulled the test phones out of her pocket. “How did the beta go?”

“Um, it's amazing,” Jyn gushed. “Like, I can't even tell you how amazing it is. And the feature where you can either turn into the shift manager or get a million coins and stay a waitress? I loved that. I did the manager on one of them and stayed the waitress on the other phone, and I thought both paths were so much fun.”

“Well, that is exactly what I was hoping to hear,” Cassian said, grinning. “I'll work on getting some last minute little bugs out of it, and then I'll probably release it this week.”

“Jyn!” came Dodonna's voice. “Get back to work!”

Jyn stood up, smoothing down her work dress. “Sorry, we're kind of slammed right now.”

“Totally understandable,” Cassian said, standing up and holding out the envelope. “Your essays.”

“Keep them,” Jyn said, walking away, “as a reminder that you're the boy who knows my soul.”

Cassian left the diner with a huge smile on his face, and it was going to take something huge to make it go away.

*****

“The concert last night was amazing,” Kes was saying as Cassian collapsed next to him on the sofa. “Shara and I picked out a song to be our song, and then we slow danced to it when Bodhi sang it.”

“I have to ask Jyn out.”

Kes stopped and looked over at Cassian, a bright smile on his face. “Finally! What made you realize that this was a great idea?”

“Dr. Nu made it my homework assignment.”

The smile slipped from Kes's face. “You're going to ask Jyn out only because your therapist told you to?”

Cassian sighed heavily. “I want to do it, I have wanted to do it for a long time. I just wanted it to be on my schedule. If I go back to see her next week and I haven't done my homework...”

“You realize she's like a therapist and not a professor right? She can't actually make you do anything for homework.”

“How do you ask a woman who works seven days a week out to dinner?” Cassian asked, looking over at Kes. “I don't know what else I would ask of her.”

“Invite her to the movies on a Saturday afternoon before work,” Kes suggested. “But only do it if you want to. Fuck your therapist.”

“I'm going through a really hard time right now, Kes.”

“I know you are, and I'm doing my best to help pull you out of this nightmare you're currently living in.”

“You are helping,” Cassian said, nudging Kes in the shoulder. “I'm just not sure that anyone can pull me out. I'm in that deep right now.”

“I'll do anything I can, Cassian. Absolutely anything.”

“Tell me that going to the diner and asking Jyn out is the right thing to do.”

Kes shifted around until he was looking straight at Cassian. “You have wanted to ask her out since the first time you saw her. Yes, going to the diner and asking Jyn out is the right thing to do. If it happens to make your therapist happy, then so be it. But I'm not worried about your therapist being happy. I'm worried about you being happy.”

Cassian sat there and took everything Kes had said into consideration before standing up. “Thanks Kes.”

“Where are you going?” Kes asked as Cassian grabbed his coat and headed towards the door. “You just got home!”

“I've been home for almost two hours,” Cassian said. “You've been gushing about Shara for that long. It is now after seven and that means Jyn will be there and that means I'm going to complete my homework assignment.”

“No, it means you're going to do what you want to do,” Kes corrected him. “You've got to think about it like that.”

“I will do my best,” Cassian said, walking out of the apartment.

Kes laid back on the sofa and glanced over at the clock. He had been talking about Shara for nearly two hours. But it had killed the time, and now Shara should be home from her clinical. His phone was in his hand before he could blink, the number dialed immediately, and as soon as he heard her cheerful greeting on the other side, Kes started to speak.

“Wanna come over? Cassian's gone to the diner to either do something really great or something incredibly stupid and I don't want to wait by myself to find out what it is he's done.”

*****

“Cassian, you don't look too happy to be here,” Jyn said, tilting her head to look at him. “Is everything alright?”

“Yes,” Cassian said automatically, then shook his head. “No, nothing is alright.”

“You want to talk about it?” Jyn said. “It's not like I have anything else to do.”

Cassian glanced around the diner and realized he was the only person in there. He took a deep breath and then motioned to the chair across from him. “Join me?”

Jyn sat down and put her elbows on the table. “What's up, fella?”

“I want to be locked inside my bedroom right now,” Cassian said softly. “I don't want to be here.”

“Then why aren't you?”

“My therapist,” Cassian said. “She's a real bitch when I just lock myself in my room.”

Jyn smiled. “Do you mind me asking you who your therapist is? I'll tell you who mine is.”

Cassian looked up at her. “You go to a therapist?”

“Yup,” Jyn said. “Kind of need it with my parents. It's not easy being psychoanalyzed all your life. I'll give you an example. One day we did finger painting at school. I made a rainbow, thought it was really pretty and that Mom and Dad would want to put it on the refrigerator. Instead, they spent all of dinner and a couple hours after it trying to decipher what it is I had meant by the shape and the colors and even what type of paper I'd done it on. In the end, I just ripped it in half and put it in the garbage.”

“Wow,” Cassian said, shaking his head. “Yeah, I can see how a household like that would make you need therapy.”

“Alright then, who's the therapist that has you out of your room when you'd rather be locked inside of it?”

“Dr. Jocasta Nu,” Cassian said. “I can't stand her, really.”

“Mine is Mace Windu. I can't stand him either, but I just switched and I feel like I can't switch again so soon.”

“Who was yours before?” 

“Dr. Tano. Asshole.”

Cassian laughed. “I'll agree with that. I used to date his daughter Ahsoka. She psychoanalyzed me to death. Had to end it because of it.”

“Totally understandable. I refuse to even psychoanalyze myself, let alone any boyfriend. Of course, every boyfriend has been an asshole, so there wouldn't have been much to salvage even if I had psychoanalyzed.”

Cassian twisted his cup of coffee around in his hands. “I have schizoaffective disorder,” he said after a moment. “I don't know if you've heard of it or not.”

“I have,” Jyn said, reaching out to grasp Cassian's hand with hers. “I'm sorry you've got such a debilitating illness, Cassian. But from what I've seen so far, you manage it very well.”

“My parents wanted to put me on disability, not let me go to college. I told them I could handle it. The truth is that the only reason I made it through those first few weeks was Kes. He kept me occupied, he introduced me when I couldn't do it myself, he made sure I got to and from my classes even if it made him late for his own. I owe him so much.”

“I can understand why they would have wanted you to go on disability though,” Jyn said. “I've never heard my parents talk about someone with schizoaffective disorder that is capable of working a steady job.”

“I proved I couldn't when I was fifteen,” Cassian said. “All I was supposed to do was wipe down tables at a restaurant. Couldn't even do that. But I have always loved computers, and I had these ideas in my head for games like Criminal Wars and Waitress and this new one I'm working on called Candy Machine. So I begged them to let me come here. They didn't want me to go so far away, but I needed to get the hell out of Fest before I completely lost my mind.”

“I'm glad you've got your company,” Jyn said. “You're setting yourself up so that you'll be financially independent when you reach a point where you can't even work on the games anymore.”

“Exactly,” Cassian said. “God, if I'd known you'd understand so much of this, I would have talked to you about it ages ago. It's so hard to find someone who's sympathetic and understanding that doesn't pity me or think I'm lazy.”

“I could never think you are lazy, and I'm never going to pity you, Cassian,” Jyn said. “I'm just going to do everything I can to make sure that things with you are as great as they can be. And I understand they won't always be, and I understand that you're going to want to lock yourself in your room every once and awhile. But I also know you're always going to come back out, even if I have to go over there, break the lock, and drag you out myself.”

Jyn stopped talking as the door to the diner opened, and all of their friends came through it. “Guess I better get back to work,” she said as she stood up. “The usual, everybody?”

A chorus of “Yes” echoed as she made her way around the counter, Hera following her to help. Everyone else came and sat down at the table that had become theirs, Kes sliding into the chair next to Cassian and looking over at him carefully. “Yes? No?”

“Haven't asked,” Cassian murmured, turning his gaze to the table. “Not a word, Kes.”

“I promise,” Kes said, turning towards Luke and starting a conversation about some video game Cassian had never heard of.

Cassian kept his eyes down on the table until he heard plates hitting the surface, and he looked up when a piece of cinnamon apple pie was set in front of him. Jyn smiled and winked as she walked away. Kes waited for Cassian to say what that was all about, but when he didn't, he elbowed Cassian hard in the ribs.

“Ow!” Cassian exclaimed, reaching over to rub where Kes's elbow had connected with his side. “What the hell was that for?”

“What the hell was the piece of pie and the smile and the wink about?” Kes responded, and Cassian immediately realized the whole table was waiting for an explanation.

Sighing heavily, Cassian picked up his fork and cut into his piece of pie. “Jyn and I had a conversation about why I sometimes like to lock myself in my room. And that's all I'm saying.”

Kes immediately realized what the conversation must have been about and hushed Luke when he tried to ask further questions. Soon the table was on the subject of Kes and Shara's date, and Cassian forced himself to take a deep breath. He had never been happier to have Kes as his best friend and confidante, someone who knew him so well that he could take a vague sentence like the one Cassian had given and know exactly what it was about and exactly what to do to protect Cassian from questions he didn't want.

Eventually Cassian felt like joining the conversation, but by then it had turned from Kes and Shara to Leia and Han, and Cassian found himself listening more than participating, but it didn't matter. He was part of the group again.

As everyone prepared to leave the diner around four a.m., Cassian announced he'd take care of the bills, accepted money from Han for his, and headed over to the counter where Jyn was waiting for him. She rang up the total and took Cassian's credit card, then shook her head when she saw him write out a tip of one thousand credits. 

“Absolutely not, Cassian. No way in hell.”

“Jyn, our conversation was worth more than the price of gold to me. Please, let me give you a tip that's worth it. In fact, that's just scratching the surface of how much I should tip you.”

Jyn had learned a long time ago not to argue with Cassian about his excessive tipping, so she took the credit card slip and put it in the right place in the cash register's drawer. “My boss is going to wonder what the hell went on for me to earn that tip. He might even suggest there were sexual favors involved.”

“Sexual favors? What kind of place do you work in?”

“One where I have to take meds for depression and anxiety to live through a shift,” Jyn said softly. “A lot of the weirdos we get in here like trying to reach up my skirt while I take their orders. Makes one really jumpy.”

“Well, Jyn, I promise I will never attempt to reach up your skirt while you're taking my order.”

“I appreciate that, Cassian,” Jyn said, leaning forward and sticking a piece of paper into Cassian's shirt pocket. “For when you get home.”

Cassian looked down at the pocket as Jyn walked away, and he stood there contemplating what it might be. He eventually made his way towards the door and out of the diner, but he hadn't made it five steps before he was pulling the paper out of his pocket and reading what it said.

_Call me any time, day or night, and I will answer the phone for you. You're not alone, Cassian. You are very much not alone._

Cassian turned over the paper and saw a phone number written there, and he smiled. He might not have done his therapy homework, but he knew he'd gotten somewhere with Jyn, and that number was proof of it.

*****

“So, do you think it's too soon to ask Shara to go home with me?” Kes asked as he dug through his closet and threw stuff at where Cassian was sitting on the bed. “I mean, I was told to bring a date, and Shara and I have been dating for nearly two months now.”

“I think that it's appropriate to ask her,” Cassian said, reaching up to catch a flying hanger before it hit him in the head. “But you need to be prepared if she says it's too soon.”

Kes sighed. “I know you're right. I just really want to introduce her to the family. I want her to be part of my family. Hell, Cassian, I want her to marry me and join the family permanently.”

“You've been dating for almost two months. I think Shara would agree that more time needs to pass before you get married.”

“So I shouldn't have gone and bought the ring in the top drawer then?”

Cassian closed his eyes for a moment to stop himself from telling Kes what an idiot he was, then stood up and walked over to the dresser, pulling open the top drawer and grabbing the ring box. He opened it up to find a beautiful diamond ring inside, fairly large as far as wedding rings went. “How do you even know if this is her size?”

“I wrapped some string around her finger when she was asleep last week,” Kes said, still buried in his closet. “It should fit her like a glove.”

“Promise me something?”

“What?”

“Wait until you've been dating six months to ask her.”

Kes emerged from the closet with a shoe box in his hand and gave Cassian a confused look. “Why six months?”

“It's just a thing in my family,” Cassian said, putting the ring box back in the drawer and closing it. “Granny always said that it takes six months to really get to know a person, and that you can't possibly be sure about a relationship until six months had passed. My parents got engaged after six months of knowing each other. My eldest sister and her husband knew they were going to get married after six months. And my middle sister and her husband did get married six months after they met.”

“Will it make you happy if I say I will wait until it's been six months?” Kes asked, walking over to the pile of clothes on the bed and tossing the shoe box on top of it.

“Yes,” Cassian said. “I'll know that you both are sure of it then.”

Kes got down on the floor and pulled a big suitcase out from underneath his bed. “Alright, I'll wait until we've been dating six months. I promise.”

“Thank you,” Cassian said, walking back over to the bed and picking up a shirt off the pile. “You want help folding all of these?”

“That would be wonderful,” Kes said, taking a deep breath. “But first, I'm going to call Shara and see if she wants to accompany me home. Ah, my good ole hometown, the place where absolutely nothing ever happens. Hell, she'll probably meet the whole town at the wedding. I know they're all invited.”

Cassian laughed. “What's the population again?”

“Alright, so the population is like twenty-five thousand and I may have been exaggerating, but you come from a small town. You know what I meant.”

“I do indeed,” Cassian said, folding the shirt in his hands and putting into the suitcase. “Now call her.”

Kes pulled his phone out of his pocket and sat back against the wall, dialing Shara's number and waiting until she picked up. “Shara, do you want to go to this wedding with me? I was told to bring a date. I know it means going home with me and meeting my family, but I'd really like it if you went with me.”

Kes fell silent and Cassian watched him carefully as he continued to fold clothes. After a moment, a brilliant smile crossed Kes's face, and it brought a smile to Cassian's as well. 

Kes hung up the phone a few minutes later and turned to Cassian, his eyes slightly glazed over. “She wants to meet my family. Cassian, she wants to meet my family!”

“I'm happy for you,” Cassian said, grinning. “Two months and she's ready to meet the family. That bodes well for you.”

Kes pushed himself away from the wall and towards the suitcase. “I'll be honest with you, Cassian. If this goes well, I'm going to have a hard time waiting another four months.”

“I know,” Cassian said, throwing a pair of socks in Kes's face. “Just try.”

Kes glanced at his watch and yelped. “I've got to get this finished, I've got to do my project for Software Entrepreneurship, I've got to meet Shara at Alliance Hall at seven-thirty, and I've still got to finish beta testing the latest Criminal Wars update for you. There's not enough time!”

“Forget about the beta testing,” Cassian said. “You can finish that when you get back. Go do your project for your class, I'll fold your clothes and put them in the suitcase for you. That should leave you plenty of time to shower and meet Shara. And what the hell are you going to Alliance Hall for?”

“Cassian, you are a godsend,” Kes said, standing up. “And we're going to Alliance Hall because there is a limited run of some play going through town right now, one of those tours, and Shara wants to see it. But there's not enough time to go back to her place after her clinical and meet her there, then go to Alliance Hall, so we're just meeting there. She's changing into a dress that she promised me is very sophisticated yet sexy in a locker room at the hospital.”

Cassian reached out and put the suitcase on the bed, situating himself so he could fold and place quickly. “Never thought I'd see the day when you would be going to Alliance Hall to see a play. Get out of here and get that project done so you don't disappoint your girlfriend.”

“You're the best friend ever,” Kes called as he walked out of the room. “Don't make my shirts all wrinkly!”

“Just for that, I'm throwing everything in here unfolded!”

“Please don't! My mother judges how well I'm taking care of myself based on how wrinkled my clothes are!”

“I was joking!”

“Thank God. Last thing I need is a lecture from my mother about laundry in front of Shara.”

*****

The winter break had caught Cassian completely by surprise. He'd been working hard every day on his classes and his apps, attending the study dinner parties at the diner, ending up at the diner on practically every other night too, and then all of the sudden he'd woken up one morning to the sounds of Kes leaving to go back home for the winter break.

He remembered a vague conversation with his parents about how everyone was going to his eldest sister's for the holiday and he'd talked his way out of going, chalking it up to having a ton of studying to do for his Applications of Artificial Intelligence class, which he wasn't even taking until the spring semester. He hadn't been in a good place mentally at the time, and the thought of spending the winter break on his sister's farm in Fest with little kids running around and his youngest sister begging him to let her live with him when she moved to Yavin next fall to start at the university, that had just seemed like the absolute last place he wanted to be. 

After Kes left, Cassian trudged back into his bedroom, took one look out the window to see snow coating everything, and gone straight back to bed. When he woke again, it was mid-afternoon and he had four messages on his phone, all of them from Leia. Grabbing his phone off his nightstand, Cassian quickly dialed her number and collapsed back onto the bed, waiting for her to pick up.

“You called, Leia?”

He half-listened as Leia went on about how she knew that Cassian had nowhere else to go for the holiday and would he like to come join the Skywalker family celebrations. Cassian was about to tell her that he preferred to stay alone on Christmas when he heard the one thing that made him instantly change his mind.

“Jyn will be here.”

Cassian sighed heavily, ran a hand over his face, and closed his eyes.

“Sounds great, Leia. I'll be there. What are we doing about food and presents?”

Leia filled him in on the details of the present exchange - “Just one present necessary. Make it unisex so no matter who opens it they can find it useful. Then we'll all trade presents around.” - and that there was no need to bring any food, and Cassian soon ended the call.

Christmas at the Skywalkers, all for the purpose of seeing Jyn.

Jyn. He was going to have to get Jyn a special gift. Not one for the present exchange, but one that was just for her.

Cassian slowly got up and padded towards the shower. He needed to go shopping.

Within an hour he was pulling into the Yavin Mall parking lot, medication and a small water bottle hidden in his coat. He parked and made his way inside, and he stood in the hallway for a moment and let himself become accustomed to the noises and sounds. There were little kids screaming and escalators whirring and every once in awhile someone would sneeze or cough. 

When he felt like he could handle it, he started walking. There was a shop that he decided he would stop in later to get Christmas cards, and a clothing store that looked like it had half the teenage population of Yavin inside it. He wandered up and down the hallway, up to the second level and up and down that hallway, and back downstairs again. He finally stopped next to the gigantic Christmas tree that had been put up in the middle of the mall and tried to think of a store he'd seen that he felt comfortable going in to.

He walked around the Christmas tree in a circle, and on his second lap of the Christmas tree, he saw it. He headed straight towards the window and let his gaze drift over it once, twice, three times before walking into the store and inquiring about the item in the window. Five minutes later, he was walking out of the store with bag in hand, content in knowing he'd found Jyn's gift.

He walked around the mall again, hoping something would just jump out at him and scream “Buy this!” but nothing did. After another few minutes, he decided to give up. On his way back to his car, he passed a kiosk that was selling elaborately decorated, large ornaments. He stopped and looked around, found one to his liking, and bought it. It might be a horrible gift, but Cassian reasoned that it was a lot better than any of the alternatives he'd seen.

Except for Jyn's gift. Jyn's gift was exceptional.

He made his way to the card shop and bought several Christmas cards, texted Leia to find out who all was going to be at this celebration, and made it back to his car. He went home, dropped the bags on the kitchen counter, went back to his bedroom, and went to bed.

Cassian woke with a start around four-thirty and searched the room frantically with his eyes. Someone was there. He knew it. He closed his eyes and mentally searched the apartment, and when he opened them, he knew exactly where that someone was.

Someone was in the shower.

Deep down, Cassian knew that there was no one there. There were no signs of life anywhere in the apartment except for his uneven breaths. But his mind was convinced there was someone in the shower, and he needed Kes to help him make sure there wasn't and Kes was gone.

Someone was in the shower and Kes was gone.

Panicked, Cassian did the first thing that came to mind, grabbed his phone, and called Jyn.

“'Lo?” came Jyn's sleepy voice, and Cassian immediately felt like an asshole.

“Jyn, I'm so sorry for calling so late. I shouldn't have called. I'm sorry. I'll hang up now.”

“No, no, Cassian. It's fine. I told you to call me when you needed me, so there is no need to apologize for doing what I told you do to. Now, what's up?”

Cassian took a deep breath. “There's someone in the shower.”

“Kes?”

“No, Kes's left for break already. This is just someone.”

“There's someone in your shower,” Jyn said cautiously. “Do you need to call the police?”

“No,” Cassian said. “There's not but there is.”

“I see what you mean,” Jyn said, her voice sounding more awake. “What does this person have with them in the shower?”

“A knife.”

“What do you think they intend to do with the knife?”

“Kill me and Kes.”

“I thought you said Kes wasn't there.”

“He isn't. But he's still here to kill me and Kes.” Cassian's voice was shaking with fear. “Jyn, help me.”

“I am, Cassian. How did they get in the shower?”

“I don't know.”

“Are all the locks to the doors and windows secure?”

“I don't know.”

“Should you go check?”

Cassian nodded and climbed off the bed. “Okay, I'm going to check the locks. Don't hang up.”

“I'm not going anywhere, Cassian. I'm right here.”

Cassian walked around the apartment checking the locks once, twice, three times, four. “They're locked.”

“How do you know that?”

“I checked them four times.”

“So why do you think there's someone in the shower if there's no way they could have gotten in?”

Cassian tightened his grip on the phone as his hands started to shake. “I just know they are there.”

“Alright, Cassian, take five deep breaths with me, okay? One.”

Cassian followed instructions through “Two,” “Three,” “Four,” and “Five.”

“Okay, good. That was good, Cassian. Now, I want you to picture the shower, just the shower, with no one inside of it.”

Cassian closed his eyes and let the mental picture form. “Okay.”

“Good, now keep that image in your head and go to the bathroom door.”

“Jyn...”

“Trust me, Cassian. Do you trust me?”

“Yes.”

“Then go to the bathroom door.”

Cassian slowly approached the door, trembling with fear. “Alright, I'm at the bathroom door.”

“Good,” Jyn soothed. “Now, on the count of three, I want you to open the door slowly. Ready?”

“No.”

“One.”

“Jyn.”

“Trust me. Two.”

“I'm scared.”

“I know you are, Cassian, but you've got to face your fear. Three. Now open the door.”

Cassian stood there for a few moments before reaching out and carefully opening the bathroom door. “Door is open.”

“Now turn on the light.”

Cassian took a shuddering breath and reached for the switch. “Light's on.”

“Do you see anyone?”

“Not yet.”

“Remember that image of the shower, completely empty?”

“Yes.”

“Now go to the shower and pull back the curtain.”

“Jyn,” Cassian pleaded, “they're going to kill me.”

“Cassian,” Jyn soothed. “Trust me. No one is going to kill you. Let's take another few deep breaths, okay? One. Two. Three. Now open the curtain.”

Cassian reached for the edge of the curtain and violently threw it back, turning his head away and closing his eyes, waiting for the attack.

“Cassian?” Jyn said after a minute. “Are you looking at the shower?”

“No.”

“Don't you think that if there was someone in there they would have attacked you by now?”

Cassian took another deep breath and turned towards the shower, opening his eyes to see it as empty as it was in his mental image. He took a couple more deep breaths and slid down the wall next to the shower until he was sitting on the floor. “How did you know exactly what I needed?” he asked Jyn after a moment.

“Because someone has had to do it for me before,” Jyn said.

Cassian shook his head. “No one as wonderful as you should have to go through these horrible things.”

“Well, no one as wonderful as you should have to go through them either. But the mind works the way the mind works, and it doesn't always want to cooperate when we want to do something. Like sleep.”

Cassian's eyes widened. “Oh God, Jyn, I've interrupted your sleep and I feel so awful about that.”

“Don't you dare feel awful about it, Cassian Andor,” Jyn admonished. “I told you to call me any time day or night and I meant it. I can sleep when I'm dead.”

“I hope that's a really long time from now,” Cassian said, incredibly sleepy after all the fear and nervous energy had left his body.

“Me too, Cassian. Me too. Are you alright now?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“You want me to stay on the line until you fall asleep?”

“You'd do that?”

“Of course I would, Cassian. I wouldn't have offered if I hadn't been prepared to do it.”

Cassian let out a yawn and curled up on the floor. “I'm too tired to move to bed.”

“Well, I'm not surprised. You must have had a ton of energy drain out of you the moment the fear left. Are you going to sleep on the bathroom floor? Is there a tub?”

“There's a tub,” Cassian mumbled. “But I'm too tall for it. It's uncomfortable to sleep in.”

“The floor it is then,” Jyn said. “Just set the phone next to your head, put it on speakerphone, and I'll put the phone next to mine on my pillow, and we'll both try going to sleep, okay?”

“Okay. Goodnight Jyn.”

“Goodnight Cassian.”

Cassian let his eyes slip closed, listened to the sound of Jyn breathing for a moment, and immediately fell asleep.

*****

In the center of Yavin stood the Massassi mansion. The mansion was the oldest residential property in town, listed by the historical society as a landmark, and said to be a lasting remnant of the original property settled by Guillaume Yavin and his wife Jacquetta Massassi. Guillaume and Jacquetta were the first to settle in this part of the world and created the town that was ultimately named after them. It was said that a decision was made between the two that the town would carry his name, but the stately family home would carry hers.

The Massassi mansion was privately owned, and for decades people had wondered who the owners of the famous landmark were. And then Anakin and Padme Skywalker had children and realized that the old empty family property was a better place to raise a family than the apartment they'd been living in. The Skywalker family had lived in the mansion for twenty years now, and the mansion gave the Skywalkers a reputation that wasn't necessarily worthy. Everyone expected the Skywalkers to be rich and glamorous, so wealthy they didn't have to work and that they would be the darlings of every society party.

The reality was that Anakin Skywalker was an introverted insurance salesman, Padme was happiest being a second grade teacher at Naboo Elementary, and they were everything but rich and glamorous. Still, the family had standing that they wouldn't have had otherwise, and it was that standing that Leia Skywalker had worked to perfection to get the Massassi mansion turned into the most elaborately decorated Christmas space that Cassian had ever been in.

“Cassian!” Leia cried out as he came through the door. “I'm so glad you came. I was worried about the drive over here from your place.”

“Well, I'm not one to turn down an invitation,” Cassian said, wiping the snow off his shoulder. “The car took about ten tries to start, but I made it. Making it back tonight might be an issue though.”

“Plenty of spare rooms,” Leia said, helping Cassian take his heavy winter coat off. “You are more than welcome to stay tonight if you think it's too dangerous to get home.”

“Thanks Leia,” Cassian said, reaching for the bag he'd brought with the wrapped up ornament. “I remembered to bring a gift.”

“Great!” Leia said, taking the bag from him. “I'll get it set out with everyone else's. You go get warm. Hot chocolate is waiting in the kitchen.”

Leia pointed Cassian in a direction so he went that way and found the kitchen. There was a gigantic pot on the stove full of hot chocolate, and Cassian took one of the mugs next to it and ladled himself some. He brought it to his lips and tasted a small sip before smiling. 

He loved hot chocolate.

“I was wondering if you were ever going to show up.”

Cassian turned to see Jyn leaning up against the doorway, her work dress replaced by a long-sleeved, red turtleneck sweater that clung to her curves and a flared black skirt that landed just above her knee. Cassian drank up the sight of her, letting a large grin settle on his face. “You know, I've never seen you outside the diner before.”

“I know,” Jyn said, walking into the kitchen. “And I've never seen you dressed up before. Trousers, button-down shirt, soft-looking green sweater. You look really good, Cassian.”

“You look stunning,” he replied. “I mean, you're beautiful no matter what you're wearing, but you look absolutely stunning, Jyn.”

Jyn's cheeks flushed and she reached past Cassian to grab a mug and ladle herself some hot chocolate. “You looked in heaven when you were tasting this, so now I have to try it.”

“I have a weakness for hot chocolate,” Cassian admitted. “Hot chocolate and apple pie.”

“I'll have to remember that,” Jyn said, sipping at her drink. “That really is spectacular hot chocolate.”

“Made with real chocolate and milk,” came Luke's voice. “No powdered shit in this house. Now get out of the kitchen and into the living room. Leia wants us all to help decorate the tree.”

Cassian gave Jyn a confused look as they walked out of the kitchen. “The tree's not decorated?”

“Skywalker family tradition. They get up Christmas morning and decorate the tree, then eat, then open presents. Presents are never put underneath the tree, they're always in front of the fireplace. The Skywalkers are a little strange.”

Cassian laughed. “I already knew that just from meeting Leia and Luke.”

They left the kitchen and turned a corner and were suddenly in the same room as a Christmas tree that had to be ten feet tall, something that was plausible underneath the high ceilings of the Massassi mansion. “How are we supposed to decorate the top of that?”

“That's my job,” came a voice Cassian didn't recognize, and a elderly man walked around them and smiled. “Saw Gerrera. I take care of the house for the Skywalkers.”

“Ah, Saw, how could I have forgotten to tell Cassian about you!” Jyn exclaimed, leaning forward and kissing the man on the cheek. “Saw is the sweetest old man that you'll ever meet. He's a very good friend of my parents.”

Cassian sensed the importance of getting Saw to like him and immediately held out his hand. “Cassian Andor, sir. Very nice to meet you.”

“Sir?” Saw laughed. “Oh no, young man, there will be no sir around me. It's Saw and nothing else.”

“Very well, Saw,” Cassian said, smiling when he shook his hand. “So you look after the house?”

“A house like this requires a lot of maintenance, Cassian. Especially since we have to keep it like it is since it's a historical landmark and all of that,” Leia said, walking up to them. “Sometimes I think we're lucky we have electricity and indoor plumbing with all the work Mama and Papa have to do to get simple projects approved by the city council. Anyway, Saw, time for you to work your magic on the tree.”

“A pleasure as always, Leia,” Saw said, turning to Cassian and Jyn. “Excuse me.”

They watched as Saw walked over to the tree and set up a tall ladder next to it before Leia was grabbing them both by the hand and pulling them closer. “Come on. Cassian, what are you comfortable doing as far as decorating?”

“Um, I'm horrible at decorating,” Cassian said, looking around at all the boxes of ornaments. “I could maybe put the hooks on the ornaments.”

“Brilliant idea!” Leia said, pushing him into a chair and handing him a bag full of tangled hooks. “Jyn, you know what you're to do.” 

Jyn squeezed Cassian on the shoulder and then walked across the room and started untangling strings of lights. Cassian made progress on the hooks while Leia kept going to the door to let more people in, and soon there was a whole room of people acting like a small army to decorate the tree. 

After awhile, Luke noticed that Leia had disappeared. “Hey, anyone know where Leia has disappeared to?”

Jyn just laughed. “Han got here half an hour ago. I think they're putting the mistletoe to good use.”

Luke groaned. “Those two make me sick.”

“Just wait until you have a girlfriend, Luke,” Cassian called out. “Then you can gross Leia out all the time.”

“You are a smart man, Cassian, a very smart man.”

Leia and Han finally joined the team in the living room about an hour later, and eventually the tree was fully lit and shining with ornaments of all shapes, colors, and sizes. Cassian couldn't help but think that the ornament he'd bought would fit perfectly on that tree.

An elderly woman came into the room and announced that dinner was served, which made Cassian look at his watch and realize that it was almost seven o'clock in the evening. He'd been planning to leave some time before six to make it back home before the worst of the storm hit.

Jyn fell into step beside him as they made their way into a huge dining room. “Anxious to go home?”

“No, not at all,” Cassian said, smiling at her. “Just realized I have missed the time I was planning to leave at.”

“Ah, I should have warned you about Skywalker Christmases,” Jyn said as they approached the table. “We probably won't be opening presents until at least nine.”

Cassian reached out and pulled out a chair for Jyn to sit in, causing her cheeks to flush. Cassian sat down next to her and watched as dish after dish of food was brought out onto the table. He'd never experienced a Christmas like this before, and he definitely wasn't telling his family about it. He did miss them though, and once his plate was full, he pulled out his phone and sent a quick mass text to his immediate family members, letting them know how much he was thinking of them.

Jyn was watching and Cassian noticed when he was putting his phone back in his pocket. “Why didn't you go home for Christmas, Cassian?”

“Just didn't feel like it,” Cassian said. “Every time I go home, they try to convince me to stay. I didn't want the argument this year.”

“Understandable,” Jyn said. “My parents are in Scarif.”

“Scarif?”

“Yeah, as soon as I was able to drive, they decided that Christmas was a time for them to vacation. They've been all over the world now, and I've been spending Christmas with the Skywalkers since I was sixteen.”

Cassian turned towards his plate and reached for utensils. “Well, I'm glad you're here and not in Scarif.”

“And I'm glad you're here and not in Fest,” Jyn said, smiling. “Now, let's eat.”

*****

Cassian was wandering the upstairs hallways of the Massassi mansion, trying to figure out where his room was. He'd left it a few minutes earlier to get a glass of water from the kitchen, but now he couldn't remember which room was which.

“Cassian?”

Cassian turned around and saw Jyn peeking out of a door. “Hi.”

“What are you doing?”

“I went to get some water and now I can't find my room,” Cassian said.

“Honestly, Cassian,” Jyn said, holding out an arm. “Come here.”

“I really should find my room.”

“I don't know what room Leia put you up in and it's a bad idea to go around opening doors to find out which is yours,” Jyn said. “Come here. You can stay in here tonight.”

“Jyn.”

“Cassian, come on. It's better than sleeping in the hallway.”

Cassian hesitated for a moment before heading over to Jyn and letting her pull him into the room. She turned on the light once the door was closed, and Cassian immediately averted his eyes. “Sorry.”

Jyn glanced back at him and then down at her nightgown before reaching for her robe and tying it around her waist. “You can look now.”

Cassian turned his head back to her and smiled. “I'm sorry for having to do this to you.”

“It's hardly the first time I've shared a bed with anyone,” Jyn said, walking over to it. “Are you sleeping in that? You still have your shoes on.”

“I hadn't settled down for the night yet,” Cassian said, walking further into the room. “But yeah, I was going to sleep in this. I don't really have any other clothes to wear.”

Jyn sat down on the bed and yawned. “You weren't settled for the night? Cassian, it's three a.m..”

“I know,” Cassian said, toeing off his shoes and going to sit down next to her. “I just didn't do something today and I felt like a coward because of it, and well, it was on my mind and my mind was racing and I couldn't get it to shut off.”

Jyn looked over at him. “What didn't you do today? I sat there and watched you text like everyone in your contacts.”

“I got a specific someone a gift, and I didn't give it to them because I was suddenly afraid that they wouldn't like it.”

Jyn put her head on Cassian's shoulder. “I'm sure whatever it was, they would have liked it.”

“Well, we can test that theory,” Cassian said, digging into his pocket and producing a small, wrapped box. “This is for you, Jyn.”

“Cassian,” Jyn said, taking the box from him. “You shouldn't have.”

“Once I saw it, I couldn't not buy it for you.” Cassian wrapped an arm around Jyn's waist. “Come on, open it.”

Jyn slid her finger underneath the tape and slowly unwrapped it, revealing a red velvet jewelry box. She was immediately relieved to discover it was not the size of a ring box, and she opened it up to find a pair of earrings and a pendant, all large heart-shaped stones that she was pretty sure were kybers. “Oh, Cassian.”

“Kybers for my Jyn,” Cassian said quietly. “Hearts for the girl who has mine.”

Jyn turned towards Cassian and smiled. “The girl who has your heart?”

“Come on,” Cassian said. “You had to have guessed by now.”

“Yeah, I did, I just...I was too afraid to hope,” Jyn said. “Kes was right about you, you know. You are the antithesis of an asshole.”

Cassian laughed. “I almost killed him when he said that to you.”

“I wonder who won the bet?” Jyn said, making Cassian laugh again. “What? I do wonder who won the bet!”

“At the risk of sounding completely corny, I think we won the bet,” Cassian said, cringing. “Oh, that sounded awful said aloud.”

Jyn laughed and set the box aside, reaching up and pulling Cassian to her. “You can kiss me now, you know.”

“Good,” Cassian said, leaning forward and pressing their lips together softly. When they broke apart, Cassian smiled at her. “I've been waiting for a long time for that.”

“So have I!” Jyn exclaimed, pulling him into another kiss. “We're going to get a big chorus of 'It's about time' you know.”

“I know,” Cassian said, smiling. “I just had to wait until the time was right for me and hope that you hadn't given up on me at that point.”

“I didn't mind waiting,” Jyn said. “I knew you would be worth it.”

“I've got to admit,” Cassian murmured. “Your parents' professions made me wary. You remember me telling you I used to date Ahsoka Tano? I was afraid of a similar situation with you.”

“I would never psychoanalyze you, Cassian. I wouldn't even know how to,” Jyn said solemnly. “I promise.”

“You don't need to promise that. I know that. But what sealed it for me, what really made me keep the gift and not take it back and continue to be a coward was the night you talked me out of my paranoia.”

“Oh, honey,” Jyn said, running a hand along Cassian's cheek. “I just did what I thought would help.”

“You did help. You did more to help me in that ten minute span than anyone has done for my paranoia in fifteen years. And that's when I knew I had to stop being a coward and actually make a move.” Cassian caught Jyn's hand and pressed a kiss to the inside of her wrist. “You're the most amazing person I've ever met, Jyn.”

“You're pretty amazing yourself,” Jyn said, yawning. “And as much as I would love to continue this, I need some sleep.”

“I should go find my room,” Cassian said, standing up. 

“Absolutely not,” Jyn said, pulling him back down. “Get yourself down to something comfortable to sleep in and climb in. Warning, I will drape myself all over you in the middle of the night.”

Cassian reached up and slowly started to take off his sweater. “That's okay. I can handle that.”

*****

“Cassian, Candy Machine is awesome and addictive,” Shara said from the sofa in his and Kes's apartment. “Like, you just released it into the public today and I'm already on level seventy.”

“Great, I already have to rewrite the whole thing,” Cassian said, settling himself in the chair. “It's not supposed to be that easy.”

“No!” Shara exclaimed. “It's totally not easy. I just haven't been able to put it down. The only time I stopped using it today was when a patient needed something, and let me tell you, the emergency room at this hospital is dead on the best of days. My mom started to play too, and she's hooked. But she's only at level thirty.”

“Well, great then. Thanks Shara.” 

Kes came into the room and sat down next to Shara. Shara stopped playing her game and turned towards Kes, and they had one of those silent conversations with their eyes that Cassian was useless at understanding. Eventually Kes cleared his throat and turned towards Cassian. 

“As you know, Shara and I have been dating for four months now,” he started, his voice a little shaky. “And we've reached a point where we want to live together.”

Cassian sucked in a shuddering breath. Of course they wanted to live together. It was only natural. But then he started to think about himself all alone in the apartment, paranoia setting in, walking around with a baseball bat, destroying things because he thought they were something else, and he immediately wished that this conversation was not happening.

“So, the lease is up on Shara's apartment in a month, and, well, Cassian, do you mind if Shara moves in here with us?”

It took Cassian's mind a minute to process what Kes had said, and he was so relieved that he shook his head before he could even think about it. “No, I don't mind at all.”

Kes beamed at him and Shara got up, walking over to Cassian and giving him a soft kiss on the cheek. “I promise you, you won't even know I'm here.”

Cassian knew better than to believe that, but he didn't say anything. Kes made a joke about it, but all Cassian could think was that it was going to be a pair with a third wheel. And he most definitely was the third wheel.

Shara sat back down and she and Kes started a conversation about something from her clinical that Cassian didn't understand, so he got up and went into his room for a moment. After making sure he looked alright and was okay to drive, he walked out of his bedroom and out of the apartment, saying a brief goodbye that he wasn't even sure either of them heard.

He drove around town a few times before he ended up at the diner, and he settled himself into a seat at the counter, forcing a smile when Hera came over. “Good evening, Hera.”

“Evening, Cassian. What can I get for you tonight?”

Cassian suddenly realized he was starving because he hadn't eaten - the three of them were supposed to go out to dinner together - so he quickly ordered a cheeseburger and fries. Hera gave him a smile and went to put the order in, and Cassian shifted his vision so that he was looking at the counter.

He'd been there for several minutes before a piece of cinnamon apple pie was slid into his view and he looked up to see Jyn standing there. “Hi.”

“Hera said you looked like death warmed over, and I have to agree. What's going on, honey?”

Cassian picked up his fork and cut into the pie. “Shara's moving in.”

Jyn leaned forward. “Cassian, I said what's going on.”

Cassian sighed and set his fork down, looking up into his girlfriend's eyes. “My time at home with Kes is my time with him. It's when he and I talk and watch Lord of the Rings at 3 a.m. and he helps me through panic attacks and when I think people are in the shower or outside my door, and all of that is getting taken away from me because of Shara. Don't get me wrong, I love Shara, but this is my time with Kes and it's being taken away from me.”

Jyn reached out and caressed Cassian's cheek. “Honey, you knew that this was going to come to an end sometime soon. You've already told me about Kes's proposal plans.”

“I know,” Cassian said. “It doesn't mean I like it.”

“You don't have to like it,” Jyn said. “Kes has been your only support for a long time. But remember what I wrote on that piece of paper that night. You're not alone, Cassian. You are very much not alone.”

Cassian scooped up a piece of pie with his fork and ate it. “I don't know what I'd do without you, Jyn. You're that important and special to me.”

“Well, you're very important and special to me too,” Jyn said, looking over at the two-way when she heard Dodonna yell that an order was up. “I'll be right back.”

Jyn walked away and soon Hera was standing in front of Cassian, setting his food down and smiling at him as he ate his pie. “You always eat the pie first,” she said. “Why do you always eat the pie first?”

“It's the best part,” Cassian said. “I never was allowed to have any dessert when I was a kid. My sisters and I were always ushered away from the table and then the adults would eat dessert. So of course we clandestinely started to eat dessert. I remember one time, we went to the market after school and bought an apple pie. We took it home and split it between the four of us. It was at that moment that my weakness for apple pie began. So, whenever I have apple pie in front of me, I eat it before I eat anything else.”

Hera chuckled. “That's an odd reason to eat pie before dinner.”

“Well, I come from an odd family,” Cassian said, smiling at her. “How's school going?”

Hera suddenly got really excited. “One last test tomorrow and then I'm done! I already have an interview at Coruscant lined up. God bless Leia, I owe her so much if I get that job.”

“Well, good luck,” Cassian said, turning back to his pie. “I take it if you get the job you're going to quit this one?”

“Oh yeah,” Hera said. “But don't worry, I'll still be around for the study dinner parties, even though I won't have anything to study, and Kanan will be there too, though he certainly wouldn't have anything to study. Well, maybe he'll have the manual of his new car to read through. I can't believe he actually reads that thing, but he does.”

“Well, he's a mechanic. He probably needs to know those things.”

“He's not a mechanic yet,” Hera stressed. “He's still just a service writer.”

“But he wants to be a mechanic, so perhaps he's just making sure he's fully ready when the time comes.”

“I have never thought of it like that before,” Hera said, smiling at him. “Thanks, Cassian. I'm going to get him as many car manuals to read as I can.”

“Well, you're welcome to mine,” Cassian said. “I'll get it for you before I leave.”

“Awesome.” Hera saw Jyn walking towards them and smiled. “Hey did you hear who won the bet?”

“Nope.”

“Han. He guessed Christmas. He's gloating about winning too.”

Cassian sat back and laughed. “I bet Leia and Luke are mad about that.”

“Totally,” Hera said. “I'll leave you and the girlfriend alone.”

“Thanks Hera.”

“By the way, Cassian. The kybers are awesome. Amazing gift.”

“Well, she deserves special gifts,” Cassian said as Jyn came to a stop in front of him, pleased to see her wearing the earrings. “You're not wearing the necklace?”

Jyn reached up and pulled the necklace out from underneath the high collar of her work dress. “No, I'm wearing it. I just don't want any of the weirdos to see it and try to take it from me.”

Cassian nodded as she tucked it back underneath her dress. “I'm glad you're wearing them, Jyn.”

“How could I not? They represent something so special,” Jyn said, smiling at him. “You feeling better about this Kes and Shara situation yet?”

Cassian took a deep breath before finishing the last of his pie. “Not really. I mean, I knew this was going to happen, but I didn't think it was going to happen like this.”

“If you're that uncomfortable with Shara moving in with you and Kes, maybe you should move out and find a place of your own.”

Cassian pushed the empty pie plate away and grabbed the plate with the cheeseburger on it. “I've thought about taking some of the money I've made and buying a house. But I've never gotten very far with that thought.”

“Well, maybe you should explore that thought some more,” Jyn said. “I thought you weren't sure you were going to stay in Yavin though.”

“Let's just say I met someone who made me change my mind,” Cassian murmured, picking up his cheeseburger. “I don't think that I'm going to accept the job the university has offered me though. I've already got a pretty good thing going on with the apps.”

“Hera told me that Candy Machine is addictive.”

“Well, I certainly hope so because nearly five million people have downloaded it today,” Cassian said, pride entering his voice. “Five million people have downloaded it, Jyn. And a whole lot of them bought the ad-free version too.”

Jyn's eyes widened. “Cassian, that's fantastic!”

“I've had these ideas for stupid games for so long, and now that I'm actually making them, people are downloading them like crazy and playing them and liking them and I just don't know how to handle it.”

“Be happy about it,” Jyn said. “Financial independence. Work at your own pace. Everything someone with your illness needs.”

“Jyn, you know that my mental state is just going to deteriorate over time, right?”

“Yes, I know. I had a conversation with my parents about the disorder after you told me about it.”

“I could never burden someone with having to put up with me,” Cassian mumbled. “That's why I think I'll end up alone.”

Jyn leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Cassian's forehead. “I'd take care of you.”

“You would?” Cassian asked, looking up. 

“I don't know if you've noticed, honey, but I'd do just about anything for you.” 

“Don't say that. You don't know how bad things could get.”

Jyn smiled at him. “It doesn't matter. I'm the girl who has your heart, and you're the boy who knows my soul. Nothing is going to change that.”

Cassian watched as Jyn walked away, those last few words playing in his mind. She was the girl who had his heart, and he was the boy who knew her soul. Somehow, Cassian knew that was the absolutely perfect way to describe what they had.

*****

Everyone was working away at homework during the Thursday night study dinner party when Luke cleared his throat and got everyone's attention. “Guys, I would like to make an announcement.”

“Oh God,” Leia moaned. “What on earth is this about?”

“Leia, shut up.” Luke took a deep breath and sighed. “I am the newest columnist at the Yavin Gazette.”

A round of cheers went up around the table, and Luke grinned. “Also, I am dropping out of college. I need to focus all of my time on this column, and the editor has already said he doesn't care about a college degree.”

“Have you told Mama and Papa that?” Leia asked. “Because I know their feelings on the subject.”

“Actually, I have,” Luke said. “And they agreed with my decision. 'A columnist,' Papa said. 'My son is going to be a columnist.' He was very proud. And Mama was happy as well.”

Leia just stared at him for a moment before rolling her eyes. “I'm never going to hear the end of this, now am I?”

“Just wait until you read my first column, Leia. It's all about an annoying twin sister who thinks I can't make it on my own.”

“It sure as hell better not be,” Leia raged.

“I'm kidding,” Luke said. “It's more of a look at what growing up in our family was like. My editor, Geoffrey Landivar, told me that he loved it. He wants more of it, actually. That's sort of going to be the basis of my column.”

“There better not be a single word about me in any column without my consent,” Leia declared. “Or I will hunt you down and kill you.”

Luke laughed. “Relax, Leia. It's not going to be anything bad or embarrassing. I'm not out to humiliate the family.”

“Well, I say congratulations Luke,” Han said, wrapping an arm around Leia's shoulders. “I'm sure she'll come around.”

Everyone else chimed in with congratulations, and Hera brought Luke a piece of pumpkin pie on the house. After a few brief conversations about Luke's column and why it had taken so long to get the editor's approval – apparently it was something to do with Luke's writing style being too formal – everyone settled back into their homework. Cassian was typing away at his laptop, and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes when Kes stopped working and started whispering in Shara's ear. He knew what was coming next, and he was not prepared for it.

“Hey guys, Shara and I have an announcement too,” Kes said, turning everyone's attention to them. “As you know, Shara and I have a history that goes back beyond the day we met here in the diner at the very first study dinner party.”

A chorus of laughter went around the table, with Luke calling out “Stalker!” before everyone settled down to hear the announcement.

“Shara is the true love of my life,” Kes said. “I have absolutely no doubts about that. And apparently, she has absolutely no doubts about me either.”

Shara turned and grinned at him, and that's when Cassian noticed that Shara's left hand was hidden under the table. All Cassian could think of was no, not now, not when I haven't figured anything out yet. But then Shara was bringing her hand up above the table and flashing her ring and the girls were shrieking with excitement and the boys were coming around to slap Kes on the back and offer congratulations and Cassian...

Cassian couldn't breathe. He tried to gasp in some air but nothing happened. He couldn't breathe and he was going to die right then and there because he couldn't breathe. He wasn't ready for this, he wasn't prepared to give up his best friend completely, he was dying, and he needed to breathe and no one had noticed that he needed help.

And then suddenly Jyn was by his side, a cold wash cloth in her hand. She pressed it to the back of Cassian's neck and reached for the glass of water on the table. “Cassian, take a sip of water, it'll help.”

Cassian shook his head as his eyes started to blur because he couldn't breathe, oh God he couldn't breathe and he was never going to get the chance to tell Jyn that he loved her and...

A gasp finally let air fill his lungs, and the cool wash cloth on his neck was joined by one draped over his head and the noise of the congratulations had stopped and everyone was watching him and he felt his airway constrict once more.

And then Jyn leaned closer and whispered in his ear. “You're not alone, Cassian. You are most definitely not alone.”

Cassian gasped again and air filled his lungs and he slumped back against the chair, completely exhausted. Jyn quickly searched his pockets for the bottle of medication and got a pill out, placing it on the tip of Cassian's outstretched tongue before bringing the glass of water back up to his lips. Cassian let the water wash down his throat as he took deep breaths, and when Jyn moved the glass away, he finally felt like he was able to speak. 

“Thank you,” he murmured to Jyn. “You always know what I need.”

“I told you I'm always going to be there for you, Cassian. I meant that.” Jyn pressed a kiss to his cheek and stood up, looking over at Hera. “Hera, can you bring some more wet wash cloths? I need to cool him down more.”

“Coming right up,” Hera said, dashing into the back.

Kes sat down next to Cassian and reached out, letting his hand rest on Cassian's arm. “I'm sorry, Cassian. I should have told you first so you were prepared for it.”

“It's fine,” Cassian managed. “I'm happy for you two, really I am. Just didn't take the way you said it very well. In fact, I'm not even sure what you said. The attack started when I noticed Shara was hiding her hand under the table.”

Shara leaned across Kes and gently caressed the side of Cassian's face. “I'm so sorry, Cassian. If I had known that that would set off a panic attack, I never would have done it.”

“It's fine,” Cassian said, his voice sounding a little stronger. “You two couldn't have known. Anything can set these off. Absolutely anything. I'm sorry I ruined your big announcement.”

“No,” Kes said firmly. “You did not ruin anything and I don't want you to think for a second that you did.”

“Okay,” Cassian said, slumping to the side where Jyn was and laying his head on her shoulder. “That was a bad one.”

“I know it was, honey,” Jyn said, rubbing a soothing hand on his back. “But it's okay. Everything's okay.”

Cassian let his eyes close as his breathing evened out. It used to be that he didn't know what he'd do without Kes, and he still didn't. But now he needed Jyn more than he'd ever needed anyone before.

He had to make sure he didn't screw this up.

*****

Cassian's bedroom was filled with boxes, each one containing the material things that meant the most to him. They were neatly stacked and arranged by what was inside of them, from socks and underwear to precious computer materials that had fragile written on the side. Slowly but surely the life he'd built in that room for the past three years had turned into those boxes, and it filled Cassian with sadness.

Cassian, Kes, and Shara had had a long conversation when they returned from the diner three weeks ago, and they had decided that Shara would move in and Cassian would move out. Cassian had spent all of his free time over the course of the last three weeks trying to find a new apartment to live in before giving up and going to a realtor. Mon Mothma was said to be the most efficient and ruthless realtor in Yavin, and in two days she had found Cassian the house of his dreams.

It was set on a street which was known for its towering oak trees that gave the road its nickname of Tree Lane. House number 3015 was a gray two-story, with a large front porch that was partially enclosed, and inside there were four bedrooms, a study, a living room, a family room, and a huge kitchen and dining room. 

Cassian had never really had dreams of what kind of house he'd like to live in until he saw that house. Just walking from room to room he could hear Jyn cooking in the kitchen and kids playing down in the basement or up in their bedrooms while he was working from his study. It had in an instant become everything Cassian had ever wanted.

An offer was made, it was accepted, closing had been two days ago, and now Cassian was preparing to move across town to his house and to leave Kes and Shara to their apartment.

Even after the time that had passed since they'd come to this agreement, the sound of Kes and Shara's apartment was still weird for him. 

Most of their friends had agreed to help everyone move, and they started by loading the back of Kanan's pickup truck with Cassian's bed and some of the larger furniture. A couple of trips later and all of Cassian's stuff was in house number 3015. He thanked everyone profusely for their help as they left to go help Shara move into the apartment. Cassian looked around at the boxes and a few pieces of furniture in his house and smiled.

He was where he was meant to be. This was meant to be home.

The doorbell rang not long after everyone had left, and Cassian opened it to find Jyn standing there, two large styrofoam cups in her hands. “Hot chocolate?”

Cassian grinned and ushered her inside, taking one as soon as the door was shut behind them. “You know me too well.”

“That's kind of the girlfriend's job, you know,” Jyn said, walking further into the house. “I want to see this kitchen you've told me so much about.”

Cassian followed her down the hallway and into the kitchen, and Jyn looked around. “Impressive,” she said. “But there's no appliances.”

“I know,” Cassian said, looking around. “I have a lot of shopping to do. The only furniture I own is my bed and my dressers.”

Jyn took a long sip of her hot chocolate before setting the cup on the counter. “Do you want some help with that?”

“I would love help with that,” Cassian said. “And I want top of the line stuff. Stuff that I am not going to break.”

“My second cousin or something like that, she works at that furniture store downtown. I bet she'd be glad to help get you all set.”

Cassian set his hot chocolate down and pulled Jyn close and kissed her softly. “Would you think I'm insane if I said I wanted your opinions on the furniture and things because I think one day we'll be sharing this place?”

“No,” Jyn answered automatically. “I was hoping you'd say that you picture us together here.”

“Not just us,” Cassian replied. “But children running around too. I want this to be the Andor family home for generations to come.”

Jyn pulled him into a kiss again. “I know it's only been a couple of months, Cassian, but I can't imagine there being anyone but you.” 

“For me, there isn't going to be,” Cassian said, kissing her again. “I love you, Jyn.”

Jyn broke out into a grin. “I love you too, Cassian.”

They kissed again, slow and romantic, before Cassian broke away and reached for his hot chocolate. “So, is this cousin of yours working today or not? We've got a house to fill.”

Jyn picked up her hot chocolate and linked her arm with Cassian's. “She works all day on Saturdays.”

“Then I say we head downtown then.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

*****

“I GOT THE JOB!”

Everyone turned at Hera's yell to find her jumping up and down next to Kanan. “I got the job! I got the job! I got the job!”

“I think everyone gets it, Hera,” Leia said, standing up and walking over to her. “Congratulations, co-worker.”

“Oh Leia!” Hera launched herself at Leia and wrapped her up in a big embrace. “This is entirely down to you so thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“Hey, all I did was get you the interview. You did the rest of it.”

Hera pulled away from Leia and started walking towards the back. “I'm going to throw my uniform in Dodonna's face!”

Jyn laughed as Hera jogged by her. “Lucky!”

Kanan walked over to the table and sat down next to Shara, sighing with relief. “I am so glad she got that job. I did not want to have to deal with her letdown if she didn't. Hera's letdowns are dramatic.”

“She had one in the middle of the hallway at school once,” Luke said. “It was pretty epic. They had to call the school nurse she was so hysterical.”

Kanan just shook his head. “Don't get me wrong, I love her no matter what, but it's within my best interest to keep her happy and smiling. So thank freaking God she got this job.”

Leia dropped back down into her seat next to Han. “She's good. She'll be good at the salon. She'll certainly be making better tips than she was here. She'll have a steady customer base in no time. Our other nail technician is terrible at acrylic, and that's what most customers come in for.”

Kanan smiled at that. “Hera's best score was for acrylic.”

“And I guarantee you that is what got her the job. Hell, all her scores were great – she showed them to me last week – but even if they were shit, that acrylic score would have gotten her the job.”

“WHAT IN THE HELL DO YOU MEAN YOU QUIT?”

Jyn sighed. “Oh, Dodonna. He's not going to like having to advertise for a new night waitress. He's already short-handed during the day.”

An older man stormed out of the back of the diner and headed straight towards Jyn. “This is all your fault, Erso.”

“My fault?” Jyn asked, confused. “Dodonna, how is Hera getting a new job my fault?”

“You introduced her to that Skywalker girl and she put those ideas into Hera's head and now Hera's gone and followed through on them!”

“Hera was already in cosmetology school when she got a job here and I didn't introduce her to Leia.”

“That's bullshit and you know it,” Dodonna said, tromping towards the back. “If we weren't short-handed, I'd fire you for that cheek.”

“It wasn't cheek, it was the truth!”

“Shut the hell up and get back to work!”

Jyn turned towards the table and rolled her eyes. “He'll be fine once we get a new waitress.”

“Jyn, how can you work for him?” Cassian asked, putting voice to the thought everyone else at the table had.

“It pays the bills,” Jyn said, sighing. “He's usually fine, but Azadi, one of the other cooks, told me that Dodonna's wife just left him and so he's taking out his anger on everyone else. But I already told you once before that this place isn't the best.”

“Weirdos sticking their hands up your skirt,” Cassian murmured. “I'm not sure I like you working here.”

“Well, I'm not qualified to do anything else, so here I work,” Jyn said, turning around when she heard Dodonna yell. “I've got an order up.”

Hera came bounding out of the back and sat down in Kanan's lap, kissing him soundly. “I am free of this place!”

“Which means we'll still be coming here every Tuesday and Thursday and whenever you want to see Jyn,” Kanan said automatically.

Hera laughed and kissed him again. “Of course!”

*****

“Luke Skywalker!”

The group looked up from their table to see a woman with dark hair standing there, a murderous look in her eyes.

“Oh no,” Leia mumbled, hiding her face in Han's neck.

Luke swallowed hard. “Hello Mama.”

“Oh don't you hello me, young man,” Padme Skywalker said, stalking over to the table and thrusting a picture into his face. “Explain. Now.”

The door to the diner opened behind them and a man walked in, immediately coming over to where Padme stood. “Darling, I'm not sure this is the best place for this conversation.”

“Anakin, I don't care what you think at the moment. Our son has a picture of a sonogram taped to the wall above his desk and I want to know why.”

At the word sonogram, Leia's head shot up straight and she glared at Luke. “You didn't. Tell me that you didn't.”

“Leia,” Padme said, and Leia took a deep breath.

“Yes Mama?”

“Since your brother is not cooperating, I suggest you tell me what you know now.”

“Yes!” Luke shouted before Leia could respond. “Yes there's a sonogram taped to the wall above my desk, yes, I did something stupid, and yes, she's keeping it!”

Luke got up, grabbed his things, and practically ran out of the diner. Padme sunk down into the chair Luke had vacated and looked up at her husband. “Anakin, where did we go wrong?”

“Mama,” Leia said softly. “I don't think you did anything wrong. I think Luke is just your typical twenty-year-old boy who made a mistake.”

“What do you know about this, Leia?” Anakin asked, pulling out a chair next to Padme and sitting down.

“I knew he had a one night stand with a girl after exams were over at the end of last semester, but this is the first I've heard of her being knocked up.”

“Leia!” Padme exclaimed, but Anakin just shook his head.

“Let her use slang, Padme. It's not like we didn't at their age.”

“Well we certainly never behaved like this when we were their age!” Padme exclaimed, making Anakin laugh.

“Oh of course we didn't. That's why the twins was born barely seven months after we got married.”

Leia stifled a giggle. “You can't be too hard on him, Mama. I think he's probably already being too hard on himself. You know how Luke is when he makes a mistake. Though I don't think he'll want anyone using the M-word about this. You should be viewing this as a blessing from God, like I'm sure Luke is.”

“She's right,” Anakin said. “It is a blessing from God. Now, shall we go track down our son so he knows that his parents don't hate him?”

Padme looked around the table and smiled apologetically. “I'm sorry for ruining your group function. I was just so angry and disappointed in my son.”

No one at the table got a chance to say anything before Padme and Anakin were up and walking out the door. The moment they left, Leia put her head down on the table and counted to ten. “They are so goddamn hard to please.”

Jyn came over to the table and set a chocolate milkshake in front of Leia. “There you go, darling. That will make you feel better.”

Leia looked up and smiled. “You know me too well, Jyn.”

“Hey, what are friends for?” Jyn walked around the table and bent to give Cassian a kiss. “You want a piece of pie, honey?”

“I can never turn down a piece of pie, Jyn,” Cassian said, pulling her into another brief kiss before letting her walk away.

“I don't think I've ever seen you this happy,” Kes said after a moment. “It pleases me.”

“Well I would certainly hope it doesn't concern you,” Cassian said, smiling at him. “I would be worried if my happiness concerned you.”

Kes threw a napkin at Cassian as he laughed. “No, I just mean, I don't think you're happy very often, but ever since you and Jyn finally got together, I think you're actually, genuinely, truly happy.”

Cassian tossed the napkin back at Kes. “Yeah, I think I am.”

Jyn walked back over and set the piece of pie in front of Cassian. “Hey, honey, you're going to stick around to give me a ride home tonight, right?”

“Of course but you really need a mechanic to look at your car, Jyn.”

“I'd be glad to look at it, Jyn,” Kanan said, causing Jyn to look over at him. “What's going on?”

“Sometimes it doesn't start. I can crank it and crank it and nothing.”

“Hm,” Kanan said. “Could be a number of things. Next time you get it to start, bring it over to the shop. I'll get you hooked up with one of the courtesy cars and we'll get it taken care of for you.”

“I don't have the money for a major repair on my car,” Jyn said, putting a hand on Kanan's shoulder. “Thanks anyway.”

“Do I need to tip you a ton of money again?” Cassian asked. “Because I'm glad to do it.”

“I can't take your money, Cassian,” Jyn said, shaking her head. “Not for this.”

Cassian got a confused look on his face as Jyn walked away, and he glanced over at Leia. “Do you know what that was about?”

“Nope,” Leia said, “but I'm going to go find out.”

Jyn was wiping down the counter next to the cash register when Leia sat down in front of her. “Alright, spill.”

“I'm not supposed to tell you,” Jyn said softly. “So please don't ask.”

“Too bad, I'm asking. What's going on and why are you not supposed to tell me?”

Jyn sighed and looked up. “It's about Saw.”

“You don't have money to fix your car because of Saw?” Leia asked, confused. “Jyn, that doesn't make sense.”

“Have you ever met Saw's sister?”

“I didn't even know Saw had a sister,” Leia said. “What's her name?”

“Steela,” Jyn answered, “and I cannot tell you anymore.”

“Jyn.”

“Leia.”

“Come on. I especially want to know if it concerns Saw. You know how much my family adores him.”

Jyn started wiping down the counter again. “Steela had a massive stroke the week after Christmas. She died three days later. She didn't have any health insurance. Saw took one day off for her funeral and that's it. He's been working tirelessly at Massassi to make extra money to pay off these insane hospital bills, and well, Granny called me up and asked if there was any way that I could help Saw out, so I emptied my savings and gave it to him.”

Leia reached out and grabbed Jyn's wrist, forcing her to stop. “Jyn, why hasn't Saw said anything to us?”

“Because Saw is 'a proud man who does not go begging to his employer for more money than he's worth,'” Jyn said. “And those were his exact words to me. That's why I did all that I could to help.”

“I thought you were saving all that money up for a new car.”

“I was,” Jyn said. “Now I'll start saving again. And no matter what Cassian says, he's not allowed to tip me more than twenty credits anymore. We made that deal when we started dating, and I'm not letting him break it.”

Leia nodded and pulled her hand back. “I'll make sure he knows that then. But Jyn, tell Saw to talk to Mama and Papa, alright?”

“He won't, Leia,” Jyn said, wiping down the counter again. “He doesn't think it's right.”

“Well, then I'm telling Mama and Papa and he's getting a large bonus in his check this month,” Leia declared. “He's done so much for us. It's time we did something for him.”

“He's going to know that I told you,” Jyn murmured.

“And I'm going to make sure he knows that you telling me was the right thing to do!” Leia exclaimed. “Look, I know my family isn't the easiest family in the world to deal with. And yet he puts up with each and every one of us. From my grandmother who can't hear to my grandfather who likes to tell old stories of being at Mustafar when it was bombed to Mama and Papa and all that that entails. He's always there for us, every day we need him, holiday or not. And to think that he wouldn't even take time off to grieve for his sister but to attend her funeral...Jyn, we owe him this. He deserves our help for all he's helped us.”

“Well, I certainly hope you can convince him of that,” Jyn said. “Those medical bills haven't started to come in yet, but an ambulance ride, emergency room support, stroke team, three days in a hospital needing around the clock care, they're going to be expensive. And they're definitely going to be worth more than the thirteen thousand credits I gave him.”

Leia's eyes widened. “You gave him thirteen thousand credits?”

“What was I supposed to do, say no?” Jyn asked. “Mom and Dad have what seems to be all the money in the world with the way they spend it and they refused Granny's request to help Saw out. I was not about to be the same cold-hearted bitch that my mother is. Steela was her friend and she couldn't even be bothered to go to the funeral. Dad didn't go either. It was just me, Granny, Gramps, and Saw standing in a cemetery in the snow watching Steela be laid to rest.”

“We should have been there,” Leia mumbled. “We should have been there for him.”

“Jyn! Order up!”

“Please don't tell them,” Jyn said softly. “I don't want Saw's business spread around the table like gossip.”

“I won't, if you promise to tell Cassian where that money went.”

“Promise,” Jyn said as she walked away. 

Leia stood up and made her way back towards the table just in time to meet Luke by the door as he made his way back in. “Well, if it isn't the daddy to be.”

Luke groaned and pulled Leia over into a corner. “It's Mara Jade.”

“What's Mara Jade?”

“The girl,” Luke said quickly. “Mara Jade, as in Palpatine's step-daughter, Mara Jade.”

“Palpatine as in Sheev Palpatine as in the Yavin University President.” Leia brought her hand up to cover her eyes. “You really would be this stupid, wouldn't you?”

“She hasn't told her parents yet,” Luke said. “But when she does, she wants to tell them that we're married. How can I explain this to Mama and Papa, Leia? I'm supposed to meet Mara at the courthouse tomorrow morning!”

“You are not getting married to some girl who you had a one night stand with!” Leia said, smacking him on the shoulder. “Luke, you are responsible for half of this but you do not have a duty to marry her!”

“If I don't marry her, her parents are going to send her back to her biological father,” Luke said quickly. “Baby included. It's the only way I'll be able to see my child, Leia. If she gets sent back to him, I'll never see her or the baby again. They'll make sure of it.”

Leia took a deep breath and linked her arm with Luke's, slowly walking him towards the table. “We're going to tell everyone what's going on, and then we are going to make your wedding at the courthouse as much of a wedding as we possibly can. Call Mara. Tell her to get down here. And for God's sake, Luke, stop running away from Mama and Papa. That is only going to harm things in the long run.”

*****

“Only Leia could have turned this from a simple ceremony at the courthouse into an elaborate ceremony in one of the Alliance Hall's ballrooms in a matter of six days,” Han said, looking over at Cassian as Kes and Kanan were setting up tables. “She's amazing, my Leia.”

“I'm more impressed by the fact that she got both sets of parents involved,” Cassian said, laughing. “She's a force of nature.”

“Are you two just going to stand over there or are you going to help?” Kes yelled out, so Cassian and Han pushed themselves away from the ballroom door and headed towards where the first collapsed table was. 

“Just think, Kes. This will be you and Shara in a few months time,” Cassian said, laughing when Kes almost let go of his side of the table. “Ah, cold feet already I see.”

“Not cold feet,” Kes stressed. “Just a little taken aback by the timeline. It's February. We're getting married in May. It just all seems to be happening so fast.”

“That's because it is!” Shara yelled out as she walked into the room pushing a large cart with flowers on it. “Leia is lucky that my father is a florist and I know how to do these things. There isn't a florist in town that could have handled this.”

“Leia is lucky for all of you,” she said as she walked into the room behind Shara. “But right now, I need everyone to work faster. This wedding is happening at eleven a.m. sharp.” 

“Leia, relax,” Hera said, following them into the room. “Everything is going to be fine. But you and I are needed upstairs to get the bride ready.”

“Shara, honey, are you ready for all of this?” Kes asked as he helped Kanan set the table down. “Three months to go.”

“Three months plus exams and graduation to go! Worry about exams and graduation first. The wedding will be a relief compared to those.”

Kes laughed as he and Kanan moved on to the next table. “Good point, love!”

Kanan just shook his head. “Hera! How do you want to get married?”

“In my parents' backyard,” Hera said. “Why?”

“You fancy doing it then?” Kanan asked, refusing to meet her gaze. 

“Kanan Jarrus, that better not be the way you ask me to marry you!”

“I'm not asking you to marry me!” Kanan called out. “I'm asking you if you'd like that to be the way we get married! Big difference!”

Hera just shook her head and started walking out of the room. “That doesn't even deserve a response. Come on Leia!”

Kanan laughed as they walked out of the room. “She still hasn't noticed then.”

Cassian looked over at him. “Noticed what?”

“The ring box sitting on her nightstand,” Kanan said. “It's been there for a week and she still hasn't noticed.”

“That's how you're going to ask her to marry you?” Han asked.

“She said she wanted to have to guess what was happening. Well, she's going to have to guess what that box is and where it came from. Once she opens it, it'll be pretty self-explanatory. It's my grandmother's ring. She left it to me when she died and said to give it to the girl of my dreams. Well, that's Hera. And it fits her perfectly. I tried it on her one night while she was asleep.”

Han laughed. “I feel like the only person around here who's not getting married.”

“I'm not getting married,” Cassian pointed out. “Jyn and I have a long time ahead of us before that.”

“Cassian, you know she'd say yes, right?” Kes asked. “Because Jyn would totally say yes.”

“I'd totally say yes to what?” Jyn asked, walking into the room. 

“Moving in with Cassian,” Kes said quickly. “You'd totally say yes to that, wouldn't you?”

Cassian turned and glared at Kes as Jyn walked over to him, wrapping her arms around Cassian's waist. “You want me to move in with you?”

“If you want to,” Cassian said softly. “You're more than welcome to.”

Jyn pressed a kiss to his cheek and smiled. “I'll think about it,” she said as she let go of him. “Alright, Shara, what do I have to do?”

Cassian spun around to face Kes and smacked him in the shoulder. “Kes, you are an asshole.”

“What, you don't want Jyn to move in with you?”

“You know why I don't,” Cassian snapped, turning back to the table he was working at. “Not yet anyway.”

“She spends like every night there, Cassian,” Kes pointed out. “There's nothing she's going to be surprised by.”

“It's me,” Cassian murmured. “There's always something to be surprised by.”

Han and Kanan looked between the two of them for a moment before shrugging and turning back to the tables. “Come on, boys,” Kanan said, looking at his watch. “We've got to have this place ready for guests to start arriving in two hours, and there isn't even anything on these tables yet.”

“Yeah,” Han said, nodding. “Kanan's right. We need to work and not talk.”

“Exactly,” Kanan said. “Work and not talk.”

Kes stared at Cassian's back for a moment before sighing. “Fine, but we're talking about this after the wedding.”

“Fine,” Cassian said, bending down to lift up a collapsed table. “Let's work. Hey girls, can you turn on that stereo over there? Some music might make us work faster.”

*****

Luke and Mara were slow dancing in the middle of the impromptu dance floor as Jyn sat down next to Cassian. “Today was some day.”

“Yup,” Cassian said. “Amazing what Leia can do when she puts her mind and everyone else's brawn to work.”

Jyn laughed. “She's incredible like that.”

“You know what this day has made me realize?” Cassian asked. 

“What?”

“I don't want to get married for a long time,” Cassian said. “Not even to you.”

Jyn put her head on his shoulder and smiled. “Good, because I don't want to get married anytime soon either.”

Cassian wrapped an arm around her shoulders and watched as Luke and Mara swayed from side to side. “This must be weird for them.”

“I'm sure it's strange as hell,” Jyn said. “But sometimes good, lasting, loving partnerships come out of situations like this.”

“You sound like you have an example of that.”

“My parents,” Jyn said. “They met at a conference, had a one night stand. The only reason my mother was able to track my father down was because they had exchanged business cards beforehand. She called him up, they talked, he flew into Yavin to discuss things in person, and he never left.”

“I did not know any of that.”

“No one does,” Jyn said. “They concocted this elaborate story to tell everyone about how they met at a conference in New York and had this long-distance relationship for months before my father surprised my mother by moving to Yavin and marrying her. They even tried to pass it off on my grandparents at first, but Granny and Gramps didn't buy it because they knew better. Eventually they told them the truth.”

Cassian pressed a kiss to the top of Jyn's hair. “I don't want a story like that. I want us to get married when we want to get married, not because we feel like we have to.”

“That's what I want too,” Jyn said. “And I'd like to not be a waitress still when we do get married.”

“What happened to working at Rebel's until you die just to spite your parents?”

“You,” Jyn said softly. 

Cassian squeezed her shoulders. “You know I love you as a waitress right?”

“I know you do,” Jyn said. “But I don't love me as a waitress. I've always hated it. The only good thing about being a waitress is that you walked in the door that night. You make me want to be a better person, Cassian. I can't be a better person working as a waitress seven nights a week. Especially in that place. Dodonna's going to hate it when I quit, but I need to do something different with my life. And I've already told my parents I'm not going to do anything that has anything to do with psychiatry or psychology.”

“So what are you thinking?”

“I'm thinking that I'm going to take a literature course at the University, see if I get inspired to actually try to get that book of essays I've been writing published,” Jyn said, tilting her head up so she could see Cassian. “My parents will pay my way, but I'll still need to work so I have some money.”

“Those essays are great.”

“Yeah, but they don't pay the bills.”

“You know, you're still technically my beta tester for Waitress, so I can pay you whatever you like for your work. And not twenty credits, Jyn. I'm not paying you any less than I pay any of my other beta testers. In fact, you know what, I just came up with a brilliant idea.”

“What?”

“Captain A Industries has needed, and I mean needed for a very long time, an employee. Someone to keep track of all the money coming in and going out, read through the comments on the app stores to learn about glitches that I didn't catch, generally motivate me to work on the damn things. I've been trying to do all of it myself, but I just can't anymore. The games are becoming too large for me to deal with. You could work for me. I already know you're good with money, and I trust you not to embezzle from me.”

Jyn laughed. “Just for that, I'm stealing enough money to buy a new car.”

Cassian laughed. “You'll have enough money to buy a new car in no time if you join my company.”

“And you don't think that working together would be a problem.”

“No, I don't. Come on,” Cassian said. “Say yes.”

“Would this be a live-in position?”

Cassian sighed heavily. “Kes is an asshole for saying that to you earlier.”

“You're not ready for me to move in,” Jyn said. “I get it, Cassian. I do. But I am going to tell you once again that there's nothing to be afraid of.”

“Jyn, I had to call you in the middle of the night last week because I thought the neighbor's cat was Freddy Kruger.”

“Well, if I was there, you wouldn't have to call me,” Jyn pointed out. “And I don't care, Cassian. How many times do I have to tell you that you don't need to go through this alone? You're not alone, Cassian. You are very much not alone.”

Cassian sat there for a moment before sighing. “I've just always felt that I'm this burden on everyone. I don't want to be a burden on you too.”

“You're not,” Jyn said seriously. “You are so far from being a burden on me that I don't even know how to describe it to you. I want to help, Cassian. As much as I'm able to help. I understand that there will be times when I don't know how to help or I won't be able to help no matter how much I try to. But if we're going to have any sort of life together, you're going to have to trust me to be there.”

“I want you to be,” Cassian said softly. “I'm just afraid that I'm going to scare you away.”

“How about we make a deal?” Jyn started. “We agree that I work for your company, and I move in with you on the condition that if I ever start to feel like I want to be somewhere else, we have a discussion about it.”

Cassian sat there for a moment before holding out his right hand. “Deal.”

Jyn grinned as she shook it. “Deal it is. This actually is working out perfectly.”

“And how is that?”

Jyn leaned up and kissed Cassian. “My lease is up in two weeks.”

“Jyn.”

“I was hoping you'd ask me. Back up plan was living with Granny and Gramps until I could find another apartment.”

Cassian shook his head and pulled her into another kiss. “What would I do without you?”

“I'm going to do my best to make sure that you don't ever have to find out.” Jyn looked out at the dance floor and saw other couples joining Luke and Mara. “Shall we dance?”

“I'm a horrible dancer.”

“So am I,” Jyn said, standing up. “Come on, let's embarrass ourselves together.”

When she put it like that, Cassian couldn't find it in himself to say no.

*****

“I'm sorry,” Kes said. “I shouldn't have said what I said to Jyn about moving in with you. I'm an asshole.”

“Jyn's moving in with me.”

Kes looked over at Cassian in confusion. “What?”

“I am still upset with you for the way you brought this about, but Jyn and I had a discussion and agreed that she would move in,” Cassian said. 

Kes slumped down in the chair he was sitting in and stared out at the dance floor, laughing when he saw Shara trying to dance. “She can't dance, but I love her.”

Cassian chuckled. “Jyn can't dance either.”

“But we've got two amazing girls, Cassian,” Kes said. “All because we went to that damn diner that night.”

“All because you had an obsession with Shara since freshman year,” Cassian pointed out. “Look, Jyn tells me that she can handle things with me, and I want to believe her, I really do, but I'm just afraid that seeing the real thing is going to push her away.”

“Have you talked to Dr. Nu about this?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

“And she thinks that at some point I'm going to have to face my fear. So that's what I'm doing. I'm facing my fear. I'm risking losing her in an attempt to have more of her.”

“You're not going to lose her,” Kes said. “She's had tons of conversations with Shara about preparing herself for any medical needs you're going to have. And I'm sure she's talked to her parents about you.”

“She has,” Cassian said. “Meeting them was a nightmare. All they wanted to talk about was my diagnosis and treatment. They were suggesting medicine changes and offering to write prescriptions before Jyn stepped in and reminded them that I have my own doctor.”

“Yeah, they're probably going to be nightmare in-laws but they also could be great in-laws because they will be able to know what is happening with you and can advise Jyn on how to handle it.”

Cassian ran a hand through his hair. “You're probably right. Of course you are. You've been right about me and Jyn all along, ever since that first obnoxious attempt to get me to ask her out.”

Kes laughed. “Well, it's only fitting since you had so much to do with me and Shara eventually ending up together. That is what best friends do for one another.”

“When are you going to tell me you're moving to Endor?” Cassian asked, refusing to look over at Kes.

“Because I don't think we are,” Kes said seriously. “Shara really wants to do the emergency medicine course here at Yavin University. I can work on the software for the Endor health setup from anywhere. Yeah, I might have to make trips back there from time to time to implement and stuff, but I don't think I need to live there. I should be able to get into the server right from the apartment.”

“So you're not going to move back to Endor?” Cassian asked, l0oking over at him.

“Maybe someday,” Kes said, shrugging. “But our life is here, Cassian. That's the way we want it.”

“My parents want me to move back to Fest. They were furious when they heard I bought the house.”

“You told me that your parents loved the idea of the house.”

“I lied.” Cassian sighed. “I haven't told them about Jyn yet.”

“Why not?”

“Because they're my parents,” Cassian said. “I'm going to take Jyn back there this summer so they can see that she's as wonderful as she is because they will not believe me over the phone. You know them. They think I can't have a normal life.”

“Well, I think they'll love Jyn.”

“How can anyone not love Jyn?” Cassian asked, a smile on his face. “She's everything I've ever wanted.”

“I thought you always thought you were going to end up alone.”

“That was after the diagnosis. Before it though, I had dreams. And she's the girl of my dreams.”

Kes reached out and wrapped an arm around Cassian's shoulders, pulling him into a tight side hug. “We've done alright for ourselves, haven't we?”

“Yeah, we have,” Cassian said, extracting himself from Kes's grasp. “But don't hug me.”

Kes just laughed. “Fine, fine. No more hugs.”

*****

“Ladies and gentlemen, I have an announcement,” Jyn said, stepping up onto a chair and drawing the group's attention to her. “As of Monday, I am no longer an employee of Rebel's Diner.”

A round of cheers went up before Jyn waved for them to be quiet. “I am going to embark on a literature course at the university starting in the fall, and I have joined Captain A Industries as – what did we decide my title was going to be again, honey?”

Everyone looked over at Cassian, who just smiled. “Executive Vice President of Distribution and Sales.”

“I have joined Captain A Industries as Executive Vice President of Distribution and Sales, which basically means I'm going to be taking care of the distribution side of things so Cassian can focus on the development side of things.”

Another cheer went up.

“And,” Jyn called out, “as of this morning at 9:43 a.m. I am officially a resident of house number 3015 on Tree Lane.”

The loudest cheer of them all went up as Jyn climbed down off the chair and sat down next to Cassian, leaning over to give him a kiss. “I think that went well.”

“I think it went wonderfully,” Cassian said, kissing her again.

“Hey lovebirds,” Kes called out, throwing a napkin at them. “None of that in front of the kids.”

Luke just rolled his eyes and reached out to smack Kes in the shoulder. “Yeah, well, us kids are the only ones here who are married, so shut up.”

Kes rubbed his shoulder while Luke moved closer to Mara, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pressing a kiss to her temple. The roundness of her belly that had first been seen at the wedding showed that she was a lot further along than any of them had thought when Luke's impending fatherhood had been discovered, and there were bets going around among most of them about exactly when Luke and Mara had first hooked up.

Mara was a good addition to the group, Cassian thought. She was a history major with a view of going to law school, and Cassian thought she'd make a great lawyer because she was extremely well spoken and presented a good argument. And there had been a lot of arguments witnessed between her and Luke. “How are you feeling tonight, Mara?” 

“I am doing well, Cassian,” Mara said, smiling at him as she shifted around in her seat. “I am going to make my husband massage my feet when we get home however.”

“I still say that if you quit wearing those ridiculous heels and started wearing sensible shoes your feet wouldn't hurt as much,” Luke muttered before a swift elbow to the chest had him sitting up and speaking more clearly. “Of course I'll give you a massage, darling.”

Cassian shared a look with Jyn, and he knew she was thinking the same thing he was. Those two had a very tumultuous relationship, and he hoped for their sake, and the sake of their unborn child, that they would be able to survive it. 

“Milkshakes everyone?” Jyn asked, standing up. “Hera, help me?”

“Luke, how is the column coming along?” Kes asked, and Luke looked relieved to change the subject.

Luke started to talk about his latest column as Hera went with Jyn, and Kanan slid over so he was seated next to Cassian. “How's it going with Jyn there?”

“It's not even been a day,” Cassian pointed out. “However, there was something wonderful about standing in the living room and looking around and seeing a mix of our things there, like both of us belonged to that room. I think it's going to be great, provided that I don't screw it up.”

“I highly doubt you're going to screw it up,” Kanan said, reaching into his pocket. “Anyway, while the girls are occupied, here's the key to that thing we talked about.”

Kanan pressed a key chain into Cassian's hand and Cassian quickly put it in his pocket. “Where's it located?”

“In the parking lot at Jarrus's, just like you asked.”

Cassian smiled at him. “Thanks Kanan. I really appreciate this.”

“No problem man,” Kanan said, looking over at where Jyn and Hera were making milkshakes. “I wish she'd notice.”

“Still hasn't?”

“Nope. Been almost two months now,” Kanan said, sighing. “I'm half tempted to give her a clue that it's there but she wanted a game like this so a game like this she is going to get. I just want to see the ring on her finger, you know? I want to lock her down before she realizes what an idiot I am and leaves me.”

Cassian just shook his head. “You're far from an idiot, Kanan. And she's lucky to have you.”

“Nah, man, I'm the one who is lucky to have her.”

“You put too little faith in yourself, Kanan.”

“I don't have the greatest prospects in the world.”

“I thought you were going to talk to your grandfather about becoming more involved in the shop?”

“I am,” Kanan said. “I just haven't done it yet. I want to show him that I'm a responsible young man, that I'm dedicated to the shop and to my girl, and I can't do that if Hera doesn't notice the box.”

“I'm sure your grandfather would take the fact that you're in the process of proposing as a sign of commitment.”

“Maybe, especially if I tell him I'm doing it with Grandma's ring. She was his wife.”

Cassian nodded towards the girls as they started making their way over with trays of milkshakes. “Maybe give her a gentle nudge?”

Kanan moved away from Cassian and nodded as Hera approached the table. “Vanilla milkshake for my Kanan because he hates chocolate.”

“I do not know how you hate chocolate, man,” Han said. “I don't know how I'd survive if it weren't for chocolate.”

“Gross,” Kanan said, shaking his head. “It's just gross.”

The girls handed out the rest of the milkshakes and sat down, Jyn sliding her chair closer to Cassian's. “She still hasn't noticed, huh?”

“That obvious?”

“That ring would be permanently affixed to her hand if she had,” Jyn said softly. “She's head over heels about him.”

“I think he might be ready to give her a little clue.”

“I sure hope so,” Jyn murmured as she reached for her milkshake. “I can't wait to celebrate with her. She's been in love with him for so long.”

“Well, hopefully it will happen soon,” Cassian said, reaching for his milkshake. “In the meantime, I am looking forward to going home to our house tonight.”

Jyn grinned. “Our house.”

“Our house,” Cassian repeated, leaning in for a kiss. “Our house for hopefully many years to come.”

“I hope so too.”

*****

Jyn stared out of the window as Cassian drove, looking at the scenery. “Why are we meeting Kanan and Hera at the shop on a Sunday?”

“I don't know,” Cassian said, smiling inside. “That's just where Kanan told me to meet them.”

“Well, this better be worthwhile. I was enjoying spending my birthday at home with you.”

Cassian reached out and grabbed Jyn's hand, bringing it up to kiss it. “I'm sure it will be worth it. After all, don't you love surprises?”

“Of course I love surprises. Who doesn't love surprises?” Jyn turned and looked at him. “Cassian?”

“What?”

“Do you like surprises?”

“Not particularly,” Cassian said. “But that's more due to my illness than anything else. Surprises in movies or TV shows, stuff like that, that's fine. Opening my door to find fifty people crammed into my living room for a party? I'd probably have a panic attack.”

“You haven't been having as many of those,” Jyn mentioned. “Why does your doctor think that is? Or is it your therapist that should be analyzing that? Probably your therapist, right?”

“Yes, Dr. Nu looks more at why my symptoms happen whereas Dr. Kenobi treats them with medications.”

“So what does Dr. Nu say?”

“She thinks I've been facing my fears more, which I have been thanks to you.”

Jyn beamed. “I'm so glad that I'm able to help you in some small way.”

Cassian looked over at her. “You help me so much, Jyn. It's a lot more than some small way.” 

Cassian turned his eyes back to the road and drove around a corner, pulling up in front of Jarrus's Auto Service. Jyn frowned. “Where are they?”

“Let's wait for them in the parking lot,” Cassian said, taking off his seat belt and getting out of the car. 

Jyn followed moments later, and they stood in the almost empty parking lot for a few minutes before Jyn looked over at Cassian. “Alright, what is going on?”

Cassian grinned and wrapped an arm around her waist, walking her towards the only car in the parking lot. “You're being surprised.”

“There's nothing here.”

“It's right in front of you, love.”

Jyn stopped in her tracks and stared at the blue sedan in front of her. She could immediately tell it wasn't brand new, but it wasn't very used either. She turned towards Cassian and crossed her arms over her chest. “I thought I told you I didn't want you to buy me a car.”

“I didn't,” Cassian said, and the door to the shop opened, all of their friends walking out and yelling “Surprise!”

Jyn looked over at Cassian in confusion and he held up a key. “We all got together and bought you a car. Kanan picked it out, since he knows the most about cars, and the shop looked it over and it's good to go, baby.”

Jyn stared at the key for a moment before grabbing it out of Cassian's hand and running over to her new car. “Kanan! How did you know I wanted a blue car?”

“Hera,” Kanan called out. “She helped me pick it out too.”

“I test drove it, Jyn!” Hera called out. “It's great, way better than my car.”

Jyn walked all around it before unlocking it and getting in. She took in all the features that the car had - “Heated seats! A CD player! Automatic windows!” - before leaning back in the driver's seat and starting to cry. Cassian was by her side in a flash, and Jyn turned into him, burying her face in his neck.

“Jyn?” Cassian asked carefully. “What's wrong, baby?”

“Nothing,” Jyn sobbed. “It's amazing.”

“Then why are you crying?”

“All of you went and did this for me and I just...I'm overwhelmed. I don't deserve this.”

Cassian wrapped his arms around her and held her close. “You deserve it, baby. You're the first one there whenever any of us needs anything. We just wanted to repay the favor.”

Jyn stayed there sniffling for a few moments before pulling back and looking Cassian in the eyes. “Honest truth. You did not pay for this car and then convince all of our friends to say that they helped pay for it.”

“I did not pay for the car and convince anyone of anything,” Cassian said seriously. “I came up with the idea, however.”

“Okay,” Jyn said, motioning for Cassian to stand up so she could get out of the car. She turned towards their group of friends and gave them a smile. “Thank you, everyone. Really. Like, you have no idea.”

Jyn walked over to the group and started giving them hugs one by one, Cassian staying by the car so that he was out of the way. Kes made his way over to him once he'd gotten his hug, and he gave Cassian a big clap on the back. 

“Nice idea, man. Saved all of us from trying to figure out what to get her.”

“That was part of the plan,” Cassian said, taking a deep breath. “I hope she's going to like what I did for her birthday.”

Kes side-eyed Cassian so Cassian pulled his phone out of his pocket and pulled up his photos. He opened a specific one and handed the phone over to Kes. “What do you think?”

Kes just grinned. “For your girl, I think it's perfect.”

Jyn finished giving hugs and came back to her car just as Cassian was sliding his phone back into his pocket. “So I guess I'm driving this bad boy home.”

“Right into the garage,” Cassian said, producing a garage door opener. “Left side is all yours, baby.”

Jyn took the opener with excitement. “A garage! I have a garage for my new car! This is too awesome.”

“What did you think, I was going to make you park it in the driveway or on the street?” Cassian laughed. “Why do you think I've been spending so much time cleaning out the garage?”

Jyn grabbed him and pulled him into a kiss. “I love you, Cassian Andor.”

“And I love you, Jyn Erso. Now let's go home.”

Jyn gave him a quick look before climbing into her car. “Race you!”

Kes pulled Cassian away from the car as Jyn closed the door and started the engine. After rolling down the window and waving for everyone to get out of the way, she pulled out of the parking lot and drove off.

“You better go, Cassian, or she's going to win!” Han called out.

“Oh she's going to win,” Cassian said, laughing. “And I'm going to stand here for ten minutes to make sure of it.”

*****

“Cassian?” Jyn asked, padding barefoot into his office later that day. “I'm doing the beta test on the new Waitress features and...”

“Yes?” Cassian asked, not turning around but waiting impatiently for what she had to say.

“Did you do this just for me?”

Cassian turned around in his chair. “Is there anyone else I would have done it for?”

Jyn started laughing. “Oh my God, you put me into the game! 'Jyn The Super Waitress.' I love it.”

“Have you played the level yet?”

“No, I was too busy staring at me,” Jyn said, looking up. “What happens?”

“Well, if you can defeat Jyn The Super Waitress, then you get a special ruby red apron as an option to wear, and you get to go play a bonus level in which you try to oust Otto The Manager. I would have used Dodonna's name, but I was afraid that he'd realize it was him.”

Jyn looked up at that. “You think Dodonna plays Waitress?”

“I didn't want to risk a lawsuit to find out,” Cassian said, smiling. “Do you like it?”

“I love it,” Jyn said, walking over to Cassian and sitting down in his lap. “This has been the best twentieth birthday ever.”

“Well, you only get one shot at it, so we had to make it a spectacular twentieth birthday,” Cassian said, wrapping his arms around her waist. “It makes me happy to see you so happy.”

“You know what would make me even happier?”

“What?”

“Not having dinner with my parents tonight.”

Cassian reached up and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Not an option.”

Jyn sighed heavily. “I know. I'm just afraid that it's going to turn into another diagnostic session on you, and in the middle of the freaking restaurant this time.”

“I have already spoken with both your mother and your father and let them know that if we cannot have normal conversations when the four of us dine together, then the four of us will not be dining together,” Cassian said. “I needed to be sure that it wasn't going to be a diagnostic session in the middle of the restaurant.”

“Did you think of everything today or what?” Jyn asked, grinning. “You're unbelievable, Cassian. In a really, really good way.”

“If you say so.”

Jyn reached down and tilted Cassian's face up so their eyes met. “I say so and I mean it. Everything is better because I'm experiencing it with you.”

Jyn bent down to kiss him, but just as their lips met, the doorbell rang. She pulled back and looked in the direction of the front door. “Are you expecting anyone?”

“No,” Cassian said, shaking his head. “Are you?”

“No,” Jyn said, climbing off his lap. “Better go see who it is.”

“Want me to go with you?”

“Nope, I got it,” Jyn called, walking out of the office and down the hallway to the door. She opened it just as the second ringing of the bell set off, and she found a young woman standing there. “Hello.”

“Who the hell are you?” the young woman asked.

“Excuse me?”

“I said who the hell are you?” the young woman repeated. “There's only one person who should be at this address and that person is certainly not you.”

Jyn was getting more confused and annoyed by the second when Cassian came running down the hall. “Ophelia! Where on earth did you learn manners like that?”

“Apparently at the same place where you learned to pick up one night stands,” Ophelia said, crossing her arms over her chest. “Make her leave so I can come in.”

Jyn turned her attention to Cassian, who took a deep breath and then cleared his throat. “Jyn, I would like you to meet my hideously mannered younger sister Ophelia. Ophelia, this is Jyn, my live-in girlfriend.”

Ophelia burst out laughing. “You? You have a live-in girlfriend? Nice try, Cassian.”

Cassian and Jyn both stumbled when Ophelia pushed them out of the way to come inside, bringing two big suitcases with her. Cassian sighed and closed the door before turning to Jyn. “I have no idea why she's here. I swear to you this was not planned.”

“I believe you,” Jyn said, reaching out to him. “You look ready to panic.”

“More like ready to murder,” Cassian muttered, pulling away from her. “ Ophelia! What on earth are you doing here?”

Cassian followed Ophelia down the hall, coming to a stop behind her when he found her in the family room, looking around. After a moment, Ophelia spun around and looked at him. “There are a woman's things mixed in with yours.”

“Yes, those are Jyn's things,” Cassian said, holding up his hands when Ophelia started to say more. “I will hear nothing more out of you until you go apologize to Jyn for your godawful manners.”

“I will do no such thing!” Ophelia exclaimed. “You've got a live-in girlfriend and you can't even be bothered to tell us? Some shitty brother you are.”

“Ophelia, you know damn good and well why it is I didn't want to tell anyone in the family about Jyn,” Cassian said seriously. “I was going to take her home in July and introduce her to everyone. But now you're here. And why are you here?”

Ophelia rolled her eyes. “Because I am.”

“Ophelia.”

Ophelia sighed heavily. “What difference does it make? You knew I was coming so here I am. Sorry it's early.”

“Early?” came Jyn's voice, and Cassian just shook his head. 

“I never said you could live with me, Ophelia. In fact, I specifically said you couldn't.”

“And I said it was your job as a big brother to take care of me when I came here, so I'm staying.”

“You're not.”

“I am.”

“I'm going to call Mom and Dad and then take you to the airport and put you on a plane back to Fest.”

“Like hell you are. Do you have any idea what you owe me?”

“OWE YOU?” Cassian exploded. “You just walked into my house uninvited, insulted the woman I love, and declared you're staying whether I like it or not. Well, Ophelia, I like it not and you are not staying here.”

“I'll tell Mom and Dad about her.”

“Then tell them!” Cassian yelled. “I feel safe in saying that they won't imply she's a whore!”

“Does she know about the money?” Ophelia asked, smug look on her face. “Because I bet that's the only reason she's here.”

“You have no idea why I'm here,” Jyn said, walking into the room and wrapping her arms around Cassian. “You have no right to judge me. You don't even know me.”

“I know your type. Find out where the money is and do anything to get at it.”

“Ophelia, you say one more word like that about Jyn and I will personally march you out of this house.”

Ophelia sighed heavily. “Cassian, I'm just trying to help you see her for who she really is.”

“And you think you know that after all of zero point one seconds of knowing her?” Cassian asked angrily. “Get out.”

“Cassian.”

“Out.”

“Cas.”

“I SAID OUT OPHELIA!”

Ophelia refused to move so Cassian grasped her around the arm and led her down the hallway and out the door. Jyn placed her two suitcases on the porch next to her, and then Cassian closed the door. 

Jyn pulled Cassian to her and kissed him softly. “I understand now why you didn't want to tell your family until they could meet me.”

“I'm so sorry,” Cassian said honestly. “Your birthday was going so well, and then...”

The doorbell rang. 

“We are not answering that,” Cassian said. “She can stand out there and freeze for all I care.”

“Cassian, it's nearly seventy outside.”

“You know what I meant.”

The doorbell rang again, and then again, and then again.

“OPHELIA CALL YOURSELF A TAXI AND LEAVE.”

“LIKE HELL.”

Jyn took one look at Cassian before moving him away from the door. “I think we need to let her in.”

“Are you crazy? Look at how she treated you!”

“I know, but do you think it's going to make a good impression on your parents if we just refuse to let your sister in the house?”

Cassian slumped back against the wall as the doorbell rang again. “I don't care.”

“Yes, you do,” Jyn said, leaning into him. “You want them to like me. You want them to see how we are together. You want them to see that this is real and lasting. That's not going to happen if we shut your sister out.”

“Jyn...”

“I will accept her apology when she offers it, but until then I'll keep my distance. But I'm not keeping my distance from you, and she will have to learn that I'm here.”

“I don't want her here, Jyn.”

“Well, she's got to stay somewhere until a place can be found for her to live,” Jyn said, running her fingers through Cassian's growing hair. “You knew she was coming down here for university when she finished at the community college. Now she's here and we have to deal with it.”

Cassian stared at Jyn for a moment before sighing heavily. “I know you're right, but...”

“But nothing,” Jyn said, kissing him softly before walking away. “Go let your sister in. I'll go cancel dinner with my parents.”

Cassian watched her walk away and around the corner before turning back to the door. He took his time in opening it, finding Ophelia standing there with her back to it. “Get in here.”

“About time,” Ophelia said, picking up her suitcases and walking inside. “Which room is mine?”

“There is no 'your' room. There is a guest room that you are welcome to stay in for now, but we are finding you somewhere else to live.”

“I'm supposed to be living with you.”

“And I told you that was not going to happen, and now that Jyn's moved in, it's definitely not going to happen.”

Ophelia shook her head and started up the stairs. “I cannot wait to tell Mom and Dad about the huge mistake you're making. They'll probably be on the next plane out.”

“Second door on the right!” Cassian called out, reaching for his phone.

Might as well call his parents and tell them about Jyn before Ophelia could.

*****

Ophelia was sitting at the dining table the next morning when Jyn came down to start the coffee. “Good morning, Ophelia.”

Ophelia didn't respond, so Jyn decided to just ignore her. She got out the coffee beans and the grinder, and she had just turned off the grinder when she heard it.

She turned around and looked at Ophelia, but Ophelia didn't look like she had moved, so Jyn decided she must not have heard anything and scooped out some of the ground coffee and put it into the maker. She had just turned the coffeemaker on when she heard it again, and she turned around this time to find Ophelia slouched over, head in her hands.

Yep, she had definitely heard sobs.

Jyn walked away from the kitchen counter and went into the dining area, sitting down at the table next to Ophelia. “Want to talk about it?”

“It's stupid.”

“It's not stupid if it's making you cry.”

Ophelia shook her head but Jyn didn't move and eventually Ophelia lifted her head. “He hates me.”

“Cassian doesn't hate you, honey.”

“I'm not talking about Cassian. I'm talking about Findlay.”

“Who's Findlay?”

“Boyfriend,” Ophelia said. “Or, well, he was. Hates me now.”

“I somehow doubt that.”

“We had all these plans. We were going to go to Hoth. He was going to study architecture and I was going to study fashion design. And then Mom and Dad found out about it. Put me on a plane here without a second thought. They told Findlay that I had left of my own accord, and now he's not speaking to me.”

Jyn reached out and smoothed Ophelia's auburn hair behind her ear. “Why don't your parents like Findlay?”

“He's twenty-seven,” Ophelia said. “I'm only twenty. They think it's too much of an age difference. They thought I was being extremely foolish and showing my age for believing that Findlay and I could do these things. They don't care that I was going to pay for it myself; they just threw me out of the house and put me on a plane so Cassian could straighten me out.”

“Why didn't you just tell Cassian this yesterday when you got here?”

“Because you were here, and I really thought you didn't live here,” Ophelia said. “I was a complete bitch to you and I'm really sorry about that, but we're all so protective of Cassian, and for him to not tell us about something as big as a live-in girlfriend, well, it just set off alarm bells that haven't really quit ringing.”

“Do you trust Cassian?”

“No,” Ophelia said, shaking her head. “He's so back and forth about everything. Yes you can stay with me, no you can't stay with me. Yeah, I'll show you around the college, no you should go where you want to go, not where Mom and Dad want you to go. And every once in awhile, he'll hook up with a girl, and it will turn into an absolute disaster. Has he told you about Ahsoka Tano?”

“A little bit,” Jyn said. “I don't really care about his past relationships.”

“Well, someday when you feel like it, ask him about the hundred thousand credits she made off with when he ended it because he was too paranoid to put the money in a bank and she knew where it was,” Ophelia said, watching as Jyn's eyes widened. “Yeah, I knew he hadn't told you about that. I'm surprised he told Mom and Dad.”

“A hundred thousand credits? Seriously?”

“Seriously,” Ophelia said, wiping at her eyes. “He was saving it to pay off our sister's farm for them so they could be completely debt free and focus on running the farm. He's been able to do it since, but he was so sad that he couldn't do it as soon as he'd hoped.”

“Did he call the cops on her?”

“It's Cassian. Of course not,” Ophelia said. “Besides, I think he didn't want to explain why he had a hundred thousand credits in a couple of shoe boxes in his closet. Thankfully after that happened, Kes talked him into a bank account and then set it up so that all the money from the games goes into that.”

“Yeah, I know all about that,” Jyn said. “Cassian and I have a working partnership going. I take care of distribution and sales, he works entirely on development.”

Ophelia stared at her in disbelief. “Cassian let you in on the business?”

“Well, technically I'm an employee, but yeah, I manage all of that stuff for him. It's better than working as a waitress, which is what I was doing when we met.”

Ophelia put her head in her hands again. “Oh God, I really screwed this up, didn't I? You must mean so much to him.”

“Hey, hey,” Jyn said, rubbing Ophelia's back gently. “It's all forgiven. Don't worry about it anymore.”

“She's right you know,” came Cassian's voice, and Ophelia's head popped up. “All is forgiven.”

“How long have you been standing there?” Ophelia asked.

“Long enough,” Cassian said, walking into the dining room and sitting down on Ophelia's other side. “So you want to go to Hoth and study fashion design, huh?”

“Yeah,” Ophelia said, sniffling. “At least it was part of my plans with Findlay.”

“Where did you meet Findlay anyway?”

“At the bowling alley,” Ophelia said. “I was working there while I was going to the community college and then he kept coming in to bowl and eventually he admitted that it was just so he could see me and we had dinner and then it turned into this whole thing.”

“And how long has that been going on?”

“Almost two years,” Ophelia said. “I introduced him to Mom and Dad. I thought they liked him. He would come around to the farm and help the kids feed the chickens. It was like he was becoming part of the family. Then the moment Mom and Dad found out our plans, boom. I'm here and he's not speaking to me.”

“Is he answering your texts?” Jyn asked.

“Just with a note to stop texting him.”

“Give me your phone,” Jyn said. 

Ophelia stared at her for a moment before handing it over. “What are you going to do?”

“Get him on the phone for you,” Jyn said, searching through her list of messages until she found Findlay's name. She quickly typed out a message and sent it, then set the phone down on the table. Ophelia reached for it, but she pulled it away from her. “Not yet.”

The phone beeped with the incoming message, and Jyn read it before typing a response. This same pattern happened four times before the latest Bodhi Rook song started bursting from the speakers and Ophelia practically dove to answer it. “Findlay!”

Jyn smiled at Cassian and motioned for him to get up, so they both left the dining room to Ophelia and her phone call. They went into the kitchen and poured themselves coffee before heading into the family room and curling up on the sofa, Cassian turning on the television to the local news.

“How did you get him on the phone?” he asked after a minute.

Jyn laughed. “I told him I was a friend of Ophelia's and that she was in Yavin and she was upset and needed to talk to him now. He texted back to prove it, so I took a clandestine photo of her when I was pretending to text, sent it, and he called immediately.”

Cassian laughed. “Smart.”

Silence fell upon them for a few minutes before Cassian picked up the remote and turned the television off. “Ask me what you want about Ahsoka.”

“I don't even know what to say about it,” Jyn said, sipping at her coffee. “I would have called the cops, but I understand why you didn't. I can't believe you had a hundred thousand credits in shoe boxes in your closet, and you better tell me that you don't have that now.”

“No, not now,” Cassian said, shaking his head. “Only ten thousand.”

Jyn nearly spit out her coffee. “That's going in a bank account today.”

“Jyn.”

“Cassian.”

“If I put it in a bank account, then all it becomes is a number. And if I go to the bank to try to retrieve my money, they look at you suspiciously, treat you like you're a criminal even though you can prove it's your money, and then sometimes they don't even have enough money in the bank to give you the money you put in the bank.”

“So your solution to that is a shoe box in the closet?” Jyn shook her head. “It's going in a bank account. You put me in charge of the money, Cassian.”

“That I did,” Cassian said, taking a large sip. “Okay, fine. You can put it in the bank account.”

“Thank you,” Jyn said, sliding closer to him and putting her head on his shoulder. “You're going to pay for them to go to Hoth, aren't you?”

“Yup. You going to tell me not to?”

“No,” Jyn said, pressing a kiss to the nape of Cassian's neck. “I guess I'm just going to have to learn what it's like to have siblings.” 

“It's actually pretty fun,” Cassian said. “I wouldn't trade my three sisters for anything. My brothers-in-law are pretty cool too, and then my nieces and nephews are adorable. It's been like having a family before I was ready for one of my own.”

“And we're still not ready for that.”

“No,” Cassian drew out. “We definitely aren't ready for that.”

“Just making sure we're on the same page.”

“We're on the same sentence.”

Jyn laughed. “Okay. Do I get to meet your parents at graduation now?”

“Yes,” Cassian said. “Providing I graduate. Which, given how little I've studied in the past week, might not happen.”

Jyn lightly elbowed him in the ribs. “Cassian, I have a feeling you could sleep through these exams and still pass them with a hundred percent grade.”

“Maybe,” Cassian said, laughing. “But I don't want to find out.”

*****

“Ben Skywalker was born at 3:28 p.m.,” Jyn read off her phone. “Mother and son are doing fine. Leia says Luke is more overwhelmed than anything.”

“I'd be pretty overwhelmed too if I'd just become a father as a twenty-year-old,” Cassian said, sliding his laptop into view. “Be perfectly honest with me? Is Vicious Jungle a viable game or not?”

“Vicious Jungle is an amazing offshoot of Criminal Wars. Of course it's a viable game,” Jyn said, looking over at him. “Kes loves it, I love it, the test group we put together loves it. Why the doubt?”

“I always have doubt before I release a new game into the ether,” Cassian said, taking a deep breath. “All it takes is one click and then I can't take it back.”

Jyn leaned over and kissed Cassian softly. “Click it.”

“One of these days, I'm going to come up with a game that people don't like.”

“It's not this day,” Jyn said, moving her hand over Cassian's. “Shall we click it together? Will that make it better?”

Cassian nodded and moved the mouse so that it hovered over the submit button. “One. Two.”

“Three,” Jyn said, pressing down on Cassian's finger to click the button. The screen switched to the uploading screen, and Jyn moved her hand away. “There, honey. Done.”

“I've got a good relationship with this store,” Cassian murmured. “It should be up soon, maybe even featured on the front page of the app store.”

“That's amazing, honey,” Jyn said, looking at her phone when it beeped again. “Aw, Leia just sent a picture of Ben. Look at how cute he is.”

Cassian took the phone from Jyn and smiled at the picture of the sleeping baby. “He's adorable. Luke and Mara must be over the moon.”

“Let's hope the baby stops their arguing, at least for awhile. Whether they like it or not, they're stuck with each other for life, whether they stay married or not. They're both parents of that little boy.” 

“I think we need to give them a chance, Jyn,” Cassian said, handing the phone back. “Yes, this was not the ideal situation for either of them, but give them a chance to make the best of it.”

“Mara I'm not worried about,” Jyn said. “She's a wonderful, well educated woman who is going to make an amazing lawyer if she goes down that path. Luke is...well, he's Luke, and I've seen him do some dumb, dumb shit. I'm hoping this settles him down but there's no guarantee of that.”

“There's no guarantee of anything,” Cassian pointed out. “For example, my game could be a flop.”

“That's a bit different than a marriage, honey.”

“Fine. I'll use a different example. Ten years from now, you and I could be so estranged that we don't even think of one another anymore. I could be back in Fest and you could be on a book tour around the country and we wouldn't even cross each other's minds. We'd be that finished with each other.”

Jyn turned to Cassian and pulled him into a deep kiss. “I don't want that to ever, ever happen. Ever.”

“There's no guarantee that it won't,” Cassian murmured.

Jyn stared into his eyes. “Yes, there is,” she whispered, putting her hand on Cassian's chest. “There's my promise to you. You're not alone, Cassian. You are very much not alone. I will always be here when you need me.”

Cassian just pulled Jyn to him, embracing her tightly. “I really hope that you never have to break that promise, because I need you, Jyn. You're the reason I get through the day sometimes.”

“I'm always going to be here, Cassian. Don't ever think otherwise.”

Cassian let go of Jyn and turned his attention back to his laptop. “Have you beaten Jyn The Super Waitress yet?”

“No,” Jyn said, slouching down and pouting. “Why did you have to make my level so hard?”

“Because she's the Super Waitress. No one better. It's supposed to be hard.”

Jyn just shook her head. “You could at least tell me how to beat the level.”

“That would be cheating.”

“Cassian, this level is still in beta because I can't solve it. The people are getting restless.”

Cassian looked over at her. “How restless?”

Jyn grabbed the laptop from Cassian and quickly pulled up the comments on the app. “Need a new level soon! Must have level two hundred now! Hey, Captain A, what's taking so long to update with the new level? I don't know about you guys but I'm about to give up on there being a new level.”

Cassian grabbed the laptop back. “Do you have the phone on you?”

Jyn reached over to the side table on the opposite end of the sofa. “Here,” she said, handing it to Cassian.

Cassian took it and quickly brought up the level. His fingers flew across the screen as Jyn watched and tried to figure out what he was doing. After about five minutes, he gave the phone back to her. “Level beat. No errors. I'll upload it now.”

Jyn's jaw dropped. “And I suppose you're not going to tell me how to beat the level.”

“Nope, I think you should beat it yourself,” Cassian said, grinning when Jyn smacked him in the shoulder. “Come on, Jyn. That whole level was built around my memories of you as my waitress. It's you. You have to beat you. You can do that, I know you can, and that's why I'm not helping.”

Jyn sighed heavily. “Jerk.”

“Am not.”

“No, you're not,” Jyn said, taking a deep breath. “I'm going to beat that level some day and gloat in your face.”

“I will accept that,” Cassian said, smiling. “Now let me finish this so we can turn on Holonet and find something to watch tonight.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Everyone was at the Massassi mansion to meet little Ben when Han stood up. “I have an announcement to make.”

Everyone trained their attention on Han and he broke out into a grin. “I have been signed by the Corellia Falcons. I'm going to play professional football!”

Most everyone got up and headed over to Han to congratulate him, but Cassian noticed Leia sitting by herself looking very unhappy. He got up and moved over to the seat next to hers, putting a gentle hand on her arm. “Everything alright, Leia?”

“He's leaving,” she murmured. “How can everything be alright?”

“You knew he might,” Cassian said softly. “I remember you talking to Jyn about his chances of playing professionally and how that meant he'd have to leave.”

“Yeah, well, if he was going to play in Hoth or Eadu, I could make that work. But Corellia? I can't make Corellia work. And so he's leaving, and I'm being left behind.”

“Have you thought about going with him?” Cassian asked, and Leia looked over at him.

“And leave my family behind? I don't know. Besides, he hasn't even asked me if I want to go with him.”

Cassian squeezed Leia's hand as he noticed the group dispersing from around Han. “Maybe that's a conversation that you should have.”

“Stealing my boyfriend, Leia?” Jyn asked playfully as she sat down in Cassian's lap. 

“He's better than mine is,” Leia said, standing up. “Excuse me.”

Jyn and Cassian watched as she walked out of the room and Jyn turned to him. “What was that all about?”

“Han hasn't asked her to go with him,” Cassian said quietly. “She's rather upset about him leaving and leaving her behind.”

Jyn leaned forward and kissed Cassian. “I'm going to go talk to her. I know where she'll have gone.”

Cassian just nodded as Jyn stood up, and soon Han was sitting down next to him. “How's it going, Cassian?”

“Alright,” Cassian said, holding out his hand. “Congratulations. That sounds like a great opportunity.”

Han pounded his fist against Cassian's hand. “Thanks, man. Yeah, I mean, I always dreamed of playing in the professional league, but I didn't think it'd actually happen. This is such an honor, Cassian. I'm bursting at the seams wanting to get out of here and get there.”

“I can tell,” Cassian said, leaning closer to him. “What does Leia think of all of this?”

“She's thrilled for me, of course,” Han said, giving Cassian a confused look. “Why?”

“Are you sure about that?” Cassian asked gently. “Because she didn't look very happy when you made your announcement.”

Han scanned the room for Leia but didn't find her. “Did she leave?”

“She left the room,” Cassian said. “Jyn went after her.”

Han sighed. “I don't know how to talk to her about this.”

“Maybe try going with the truth?”

“The truth is that I'm not ready for the whole marriage and kids thing,” Han said. “Seeing what's been going on with Luke and Mara...I'm so not ready for that. But I don't think it's appropriate for me to ask her to come with me to Corellia if I don't put a ring on her finger. So I have no idea how to tell her all that.”

Cassian took that in for a minute. “I think you should just tell her. Tell her you're not ready for marriage and kids but you don't want to end things either. Tell her you really want her to come with you to Corellia but you don't know if you should ask if you don't put a ring on her finger. Maybe she'll go and maybe she won't. All of her family lives here. It might be really hard for her to leave them. But I think she at least deserves the chance to make that choice instead of you making it for her.”

“You're right,” Han said, sighing. “You're very smart, Cassian.”

“No, I'm really very socially awkward. A combined effort by Kes and Jyn has turned me into this.”

Han laughed and clapped Cassian on the shoulder. “Well, whomever it is that is responsible for that advice, thank them for me. Now if I could just get my girlfriend alone.”

“Maybe after we all leave,” Cassian said. “I don't think now is the time to do it.”

“Once again, very smart.”

“Hey Cassian!” Kes called out. “Come over here for a second.”

Cassian excused himself and went across the room to sit next to Kes. “You called, Kes?”

“Tell Shara that I look good in yellow.”

Cassian gave Kes a plain stare. “What?”

“He wants to wear a yellow tie with his suit for the wedding,” Shara interjected. “I don't understand why, considering the fact that the colors of the wedding are light blue and silver.”

“Ah,” Cassian said, turning to Kes. “Why do you want to wear a yellow tie?”

“My father gave it to me,” Kes said. “Said he wore it the day he married Mom so it must have good luck in it. So I want to wear it the day I get married, and Shara is saying no.”

“It's not that I don't appreciate the sentiment,” Shara said. “But I've seen the tie. There is no way that's going to fit in with the color scheme.”

Cassian brought his hands up to his temples and massaged his head. “This is why I refuse to talk about the wedding with you, you know that right?”

“Come on, Cassian, just tell her I look good in yellow.”

Cassian pulled his hands away and looked over at Kes. “Is this tie the one you had wrapped around the post of your bed?”

“That's the one.”

“Then I'm absolutely siding with Shara,” Cassian said. “That tie is a hideous yellow. There's no way that fits in with your color scheme.”

Kes pouted while Shara mockingly cheered. “Cassian, you are no longer my best man.”

“Would you like to hear the rest of what I have to say before you overreact like that?”

“It can't possibly be good,” Kes mumbled.

“I was going to say that you should pin the tie to the inside of your suit,” Cassian said. “That's what Granny did with a handkerchief that her grandmother had given her on her wedding day. Pinned inside the dress. So you should pin the tie inside your suit.”

“That's a great idea,” Shara said, smiling at Kes. “I would be perfectly okay with that.”

Kes looked at the smile on Shara's face for a few moments before sighing. “Alright, you win. I'll pin it inside my suit coat.”

“Perfect,” Shara said. “Thanks Cassian.”

“Please do me a favor and never ask me anything about your wedding plans again,” Cassian said as Jyn walked back into the room. “Excuse me.”

Cassian got up and walked over to where Jyn was pouring herself a drink. “How's Leia?”

“A mess.”

“Han and I talked a bit. He needs to talk to her. It's not that he doesn't want her to go, it's that he has these principles about the whole thing.”

Jyn looked over to where Han was regaling Hera, Kanan, Luke, and Mara with football stories. “She told me she'd go with him if he asked. She sees her future with him.”

“Well that's good because I'm pretty sure he sees his future with her. He just doesn't want the future to come as quickly as it has for Luke.”

“They really need to talk.”

“How do we go about making that happen?”

“Leia is in her room,” Jyn said. “Maybe if I go tell Han where she is, he'll go to her?”

“Worth a shot,” Cassian said, taking a deep breath. “But get back as soon as you can, okay? My anxiety level is rising and I don't want to be alone for very long.”

“I'll be back in five minutes tops,” Jyn said, leaning in to kiss Cassian softly. “And then we will make polite goodbyes and go home. We've already done the cooing and present giving and baby holding. They'll understand.”

Cassian nodded and turned back to the table as Jyn walked off, pouring himself a drink and downing it in one gulp. He really needed to get out of there.

True to her word, Jyn was back before five minutes was up, and they said goodbye to everyone but Leia and Han, who were presumably in Leia's room together. Once they were outside, Cassian took a deep breath of the fresh air and felt some of the anxiety melt away. 

“I love you, Jyn.”

“I love you too, Cassian. Home?”

“Sounds great.”

*****

Cassian walked out of his last exam and found Kes standing there waiting for him. “Please tell me I never have to take another exam again.”

“You never have to take another exam again,” Kes said, falling into step next to him. “Hell, Cassian, you never even have to work again.”

“I work on the apps all the time,” Cassian said, sighing. “I work all the time.”

“About that,” Kes said as they rounded a corner. “I think you should get office space and start hiring employees. That way you can have several apps in development all at once, and you don't have to do absolutely everything yourself.”

“I already have an employee. Jyn.”

“Jyn can't design apps, Cassian,” Kes said. “Look what I'm saying is that I know you've got four huge notebooks full of game ideas, and you've only released six of them into the world. If you hired employees, good people that you know from classes that you know could do the job you needed them to do, you might be able to develop a hell of a lot more of those apps, and that would bring in more money, and that would make you even more financially secure for when you start going downhill.”

Cassian looked over at Kes and sighed. “And who would you suggest I hire?”

“That guy Chewie, for one. His graphics abilities are off the charts and you know it. Plus I happen to know he doesn't have a job lined up yet because he's not ready to leave Yavin.”

“I'll consider it.”

“Also consider Wedge Antilles. He really wants to work in the app industry and he has absolutely no clue of a way in.”

“Wedge Antilles wants to work in the app industry?” Cassian asked. “I pictured him more as an end-user software kind of guy.”

“Told me yesterday he really wants an in when it comes to apps. Told him I might have one for him.”

“So you've already told him about me.”

“No, I just told him I might have an opening for him to get into the app industry,” Kes stressed. “He has no idea it's Captain A or you.”

Cassian stopped walking and turned towards Kes. “So you've found me two employees. How many others did you find?”

“Lando Calrissian, Gial Ackbar, and Crix Madine. All of them without a job lined up, all of them with the skills needed to work on your apps.”

Cassian brought a hand up to rub at his forehead. “You give me a headache Kes.”

“For the record, Jyn likes the idea.”

Cassian looked up at him. “You talked to Jyn about this?”

“She agrees that you're working yourself too hard,” Kes said. “And she's more than willing to have this discussion with you when you get home.”

“Chewie, Wedge Antilles, Lando Calrissian, Gial Ackbar, and Crix Madine. All working for me,” Cassian said, laughing. “It's insane.”

“It's called growth,” Kes said. “Come on, I've already picked out people to hire to work on my software. You should hire some of the best here to work on yours.”

Cassian turned around and started walking away. “I'll think about it!”

“That's all I'm asking for!” Kes called back. “But decide soon before they get other job offers!”

Cassian walked in silence the rest of the way to his car and then drove home, the radio playing lightly in the background. He walked into the house to find it quiet, so he assumed that Jyn was out. He made his way into the dining room and slung his messenger bag down on the table, dropping into one of the chairs and tilting his head down.

Employees. Captain A Industries needed employees.

Deep down, he knew that Kes was right. This was the right time to pick the best of the best and get them working for him before they turned into competitors, but growing Captain A into an actual business instead of something run entirely off his laptop was a scary proposition. 

He had the money to do it. That wasn't the problem. 

The problem was how much the people he employed were going to learn about him. He'd done so well to hide his illness from his classmates, sitting there enduring panic attacks in silence in class because he was so afraid to let anyone know they were happening. But he'd relaxed his stance on what people knew about him once their group of friends had formed around the study dinner parties at Rebel's, so maybe he could relax the same way around people that were working for him.

People working _for_ him. 

He almost couldn't believe that was a possibility.

Cassian almost jumped out of his skin when a piece of pie was slid onto the table in front of him. 

“Cinnamon apple from Rebel's, just like you like it,” Jyn said, sitting down next to him and taking in Cassian's appearance. “What's going on, fella?”

Cassian swallowed hard and turned to face her. “I understand you and Kes have been talking about Captain A needing employees.”

“He brought it up,” Jyn said, “but I agreed with what he was saying. The business is too big for only you running the development side. You could hire some really good people, people that you know and are comfortable with, to help with the development of new apps or working on new levels or side games for existing ones. I've seen your plans, Cassian. There's no way you can do all of that yourself.”

“I know,” Cassian said.

“Honey, really think about this, okay? Kes and I are just look—did you say you know?”

“Yes,” Cassian said. “I know. I need help. We need help. You're part of this too.”

“So you're going to hire the people Kes recommended?”

“I'm going to think about hiring the people Kes recommended while thinking about the people I would like to hire. There's some difference there. I understand Kes's thinking behind the five he recommended, but if I'm going to grow the business, I'd like to bring the employee count up to ten. And you and I don't count towards that.”

Jyn smiled at him. “Technically I am an employee, Cassian.”

“Not in my eyes, you're not,” Cassian said, picking up his fork. “You really went to Rebel's and got me this?”

“Last day of exams meaning last day of university ever for my honey? You better believe I did.” Jyn leaned over and brushed a kiss along Cassian's temple. “I'm proud of you.”

“Thanks,” Cassian said around a mouthful of pie. “I'm just glad it's over.”

“I bet,” Jyn said, standing up. “You want me to start making dinner?”

Cassian swallowed his mouthful. “Last day of university means we're going out to dinner tonight.”

“Alright then, where are we going?”

“Dantooine,” Cassian said, “so go get all fancied up.”

Jyn laughed. “Dantooine? Really?”

“Absolutely. We've got a lot to celebrate.”

“Alright, honey. I'm not going to turn down a chance for date night at Dantooine,” Jyn said as she walked out of the room.

“I didn't think you would!” Cassian called out as he turned back to his pie.

*****

Cassian sat patiently in his chair, but he was pulsating with need to know how Jyn was doing. The course that she wanted to take at the university required prerequisites that she didn't have, but she was allowed one chance at taking an exam to see if she could be granted access. She'd taken the exam a week ago, and right now she was in the department head's office getting her results.

Cassian knew how badly she wanted to get into this course. She'd told him one night while they were lying in bed that she'd always wanted to go to college and study English, particularly literature, with the goal of becoming an English teacher, but that all changed when her parents started the 'family business' talk. She could have done something other than work at the diner, but since her parents hated her working there so much, that was where she stayed.

Cassian didn't understand why a literature course required prerequisites or why she had to take the exam, but he did understand how serious Jyn was taking this. He'd been testing her with flash cards on obscure medieval manuscripts a week and a half ago, and if that was how far that she was willing to go to get into this course, then he was going to do whatever he could to help her get in to it.

The door to the department head's office opened and Jyn walked out, a smile on her face. She said a quick goodbye to the man and his secretary then practically pulled Cassian out of the room and into the nearest courtyard. 

“I got in!” Jyn yelled and jumped up and down in front of Cassian. “I aced that goddamn test and I GOT IN!”

When Cassian was finally able to get Jyn to stop jumping up and down, he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her deeply. “Congratulations on becoming a Droid.”

“Now we're both Droids,” Jyn said, then her eyes widened. “Halloween! Done!”

Cassian stared at her like she was crazy. “What?”

“I'm a Droid, you're a Droid, for Halloween this year we'll be droids! That's our costumes sorted.” Jyn paused for a moment. “Well, not sorted. We do still need to get them.”

“Why are we talking about Halloween?” Cassian asked, confused. “It's May.”

“Oh honey,” Jyn said, leaning in for a kiss. “Just ignore me. I'm all over the place at the moment.”

“Well, I think you're allowed to be,” Cassian said, slowly walking her towards the car. “That was a big exam you just took.”

“And all because I didn't take British Literature in high school,” Jyn said. “I didn't even know there was a British Literature class, but Leia swears there was.”

“Any update from her, by the way?”

“Oh, I totally forgot to look!” Jyn said, digging into her purse and pulling out her phone. “First let me take it off silent so I don't forget. Okay, new message from Leia. Oh Cassian!”

“What?” Cassian asked, steering her towards the parking lot. 

“It's just two simple words,” Jyn said, leaning into him. “'I'm going.' She's going with Han to Corellia. I want to be happy for her, honey, I do but...”

“But she's your best friend and she's moving a long way away,” Cassian said. “I think you're allowed to have mixed emotions about it.”

“I'm so happy for her,” Jyn said as they reached the car. “Like, she's wanted to meet a good guy like Han for a long time, because like me before you, Leia dated some real assholes. But now she finds the guy and he's whisking her off to Corellia.”

Cassian unlocked the car and they got inside, buckling up and Jyn stayed silent while Cassian got them out of the parking lot. “We can go visit them, you know. Go watch one of Han's games.”

“I can't be away from school that long,” Jyn said depressingly. “I'm suddenly wishing I hadn't passed that exam.”

“Hey,” Cassian said, pulling to a stop at a red light and reaching out to turn Jyn's head towards him. “There are breaks from school, and we can take a long weekend now and then. Just because there's classes every day it doesn't mean you have to attend them. Hell, I only attended about three quarters of mine, and look at me, about to graduate.”

Jyn sighed as Cassian turned his attention back to the road. “You're the most intelligent person I've ever met. You've got an IQ off the charts. I am not anywhere near as smart as you are. I couldn't graduate attending only two thirds of my classes.”

“Firstly, I do not have an IQ off the charts. I've never taken an IQ test,” Cassian said. “Secondly, you are selling yourself short. You're incredibly intelligent, Jyn. You're an amazing writer and a prolific reader and you take in themes and character arcs and all sorts of things in novels that just go right over my head. So no more talking about how I'm so much more intelligent than you are, because you're wrong.”

Jyn sighed heavily. “I know that was meant to make me feel better but it doesn't.”

“I know of something that I think might help,” Cassian said. “Trust me?”

“Absolutely.”

“Then just sit back and relax.”

Jyn did, slumping down in the seat and staring out the window. It wasn't long until they were pulling into the parking lot at Coruscant, and Jyn turned to look at him in surprise. “Cassian?”

“I thought you could use a little pampering and some girl time. You're booked with Leia and Hera, and I hope the three of you have a wonderful afternoon together.”

Jyn beamed and leaned over, kissing Cassian softly. “You always seem to know what I need. How is that?”

“Instinct, I think,” Cassian said, laughing. “Or probably just a lot of really good guesses.”

“I love you, Cassian.”

“I love you too, Jyn. Enjoy your time with the girls, especially Leia. And tell her congratulations from me.”

Jyn opened the car door and climbed out. “I will. Do something productive this afternoon!”

“Going to look at an office space,” Cassian called out. “Everyone working from the living room is not going to work for long.”

“Pick out a good one.”

“I will,” Cassian said. “Now get in there and be pampered.”

Jyn just grinned at him as she closed the car door and walked away.

*****

“Ophelia sent pictures of her and Findlay at the top of some building,” Cassian said, scrolling through his email. “I'm glad she's happy, even though it means my parents aren't speaking to me.”

“They'll come around,” Jyn said. “I mean, they'll be here this afternoon. Surely they will speak to you once they get here.”

“You never know with them,” Cassian said. “I still have no idea how the whole family is going to fit in this house.”

“It has four bedrooms,” Jyn said matter-of-factually. “We're in ours, your parents in one, your eldest sister and husband in one, and your other sister and husband in the last one. The kids sleep in the rooms with their parents on those air mattresses we went and bought.”

“I am so glad you figured all that out because I would be completely unprepared for something like this if it wasn't for you.”

Jyn just shook her head. “You would have figured it out.”

“Yeah, once they were all here. Jyn, some of those rooms didn't even have beds in them until two days ago.”

Jyn thought about that for a moment. “Good point. Guess you're lucky to have me.”

Cassian turned towards her and kissed her. “I am so lucky to have you, my beautiful Jyn. You make me so happy.”

“And you make me so happy, my wonderful Cassian,” Jyn said, kissing him as the doorbell rang. “I thought their flights didn't get in till this afternoon?”

“They don't,” Cassian said, setting his laptop to the side and climbing off the sofa. He made his way to the door and found Kes on the other side. “Kes, you look like you're about to pass out.”

“I need somewhere to hide,” Kes said quickly, walking into the house. “Between Shara and her mother and my mother I feel like I'm on an episode of Bridezillas right now.”

Cassian laughed and led him through the halls to the family room. Jyn looked up as they walked into the room, smiling. “Hey Kes. How's it going?”

“Bridezillas,” was all Kes could say. “They're turning her into a Bridezilla.”

Jyn gave Cassian a confused look and Cassian wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Apparently Shara is going over last minute details with both of their mothers and Kes had to escape.”

“Ah,” Jyn said, tossing a throw pillow at Kes as he sat down in one of the chairs. “Relax, Kes. It'll all be over soon.”

“I don't want to think like that about my wedding. I want to enjoy the hell out of my wedding because it's the only one I'm ever going to have,” Kes said, taking a deep breath. “But I think I'm going to have to think about it like that. What on earth were we thinking when we decided to get married the week after graduation?”

“You were thinking you wanted to get married as soon as possible,” Cassian said, laughing. “I told you that this was going to be stressful, but no, you had to marry Shara at the first available opportunity.”

“Yeah, well, sometimes I'm an idiot,” Kes said, putting the pillow behind his head and leaning back. “What are you two up to?”

“Reminding Cassian that we have enough room to house the whole family. They're getting here this afternoon.”

“Oh cool. I'll have to stick around to say hi to everyone,” Kes said, and Cassian just gave him a look. “What? It's been awhile since I've seen your parents.”

“You are just trying to avoid Shara, your mother, and your soon-to-be mother-in-law.”

Kes closed his eyes. “Alright, so I am. Sue me.”

“Kes, if you can't get along with them now, what makes you think it will be any different when you're married?”

“It's not the getting along with them that's the problem. I get along with them just fine,” Kes said. “It's the last minute 'oh you can't seat so and so alongside so and so' and 'you know, Kes really should be wearing a gray tie with his suit instead of a blue one' and on and on. Shara and I decided on this stuff months ago and now in come the mothers to screw it all up.”

“So why don't you just talk to Shara about it?” Jyn asked.

“Because I can't get her away from the mothers!” Kes exclaimed, looking over at Jyn. “If you can think of a way to get her away from the mothers long enough for me to talk to her, I'll leave you two in peace.”

Jyn reached for her phone, clicked through a few screens, and dialed Shara's number. “Hi Shara,” she said when Shara answered. “Kes needs to talk to you.”

Jyn held out the phone and Kes reached for it, bringing it to his ear. “Shara, could you maybe go in another room for this? I don't want the mothers to hear our discussion.”

With that, Cassian and Jyn got up and walked out of the family room, leaving Kes to his phone call. Cassian wrapped his arms around Jyn's waist as they neared the kitchen, and Jyn spun around in his embrace. “What?”

“How do you always know the right thing to do?”

“I don't.”

“Well, it sure seems like it,” Cassian said, leaning in to kiss her. “By the way, have you beaten Jyn The Super Waitress yet?”

“No,” Jyn said, slapping at Cassian's shoulder. “You put me in the game and then make it so hard that I can't get past me.”

“It is level two hundred,” Cassian pointed out. “It's got to be hard.”

“Yeah, well, one of these days I'm going to get past it and when I do, you will hear about it because I'll probably be screaming and jumping up and down on the sofa in celebration.”

Cassian laughed as his phone beeped, and he pulled it out of his pocket to find a text from Kanan. Opening it, there was a picture of a hand with a diamond ring on their ring finger, and one sentence from Kanan. _She finally found it._

Cassian handed the phone to Jyn, and once Jyn figured out what it was, she squealed with delight. “Oh, Hera is going to be so excited.”

“We'll call them once Kes leaves,” Cassian said, pressing a kiss to the top of Jyn's head. “You and Hera can do all the squealing and jumping up and down you want then.”

“Deal,” Jyn said, laying her head on Cassian's shoulder. “Cassian?”

“What?”

“I'm really proud of you, you know. I know how hard you've worked for this degree.”

Cassian smiled. “All this degree does is prove to my parents that I'm not faking the apps. I really can write the code.”

“Well, even if that's all it means to you, it means a lot to me. You made it, Cassian. You made it through four years of having a normal college life. That means you've got the strength to make it through the rest of your life too.”

Cassian leaned his head against Jyn's briefly. “Couldn't have done it without you.”

“Yes you could have,” Jyn said, smiling. “But like I always tell you, you're not alone, Cassian. You are very much not alone. And I'm going to personally make sure you're never going to be alone again.”

“Is that so?”

“It is.”

“Good thing I like you then, isn't it?”

“Very good.”

*****

Jyn found Cassian wandering the parking lot, and she immediately dug into her purse for the medication and water that she kept. “Cassian?”

“So. Many. People.” Cassian gasped for breath. “Help.”

Jyn kicked off her heels and was by him in an instant. “Open your mouth.”

Cassian did as she asked and Jyn put the pill on his tongue, handing over the water which he used to wash it down. “Thank you.”

“It's going to get better,” Jyn said, putting the bottles back. “Is walking helping? Should we keep doing that?”

Cassian could only nod, so Jyn linked her arm with his and they started to walk. She didn't care that the pavement was rough against her feet, burning against the hot asphalt. Her feet would heal. Calming Cassian down was the priority. “Your family is very proud of you.”

“I practically ran once I got my diploma,” Cassian got out, sighing with relief when air filled his lungs. 

Jyn reached over and took the diploma from Cassian's hand. “How about I hold it, okay?”

Cassian nodded and made an about face, leaving Jyn to trip over her own feet as she tried to keep up with him. “Whose shoes are those?”

“They're mine,” Jyn said, and Cassian looked down at her feet. 

“Why aren't you wearing your shoes?”

“I can't run in heels,” Jyn said, leaning into him. “Getting to you quickly was more important.”

Cassian didn't say anything, just steered them towards the abandoned pair of heels. “Put them back on. Your feet must be killing you.”

Jyn bent down and picked her shoes up, shifting and balancing around until they were both back on her feet. “This means no more running.”

“I'm too tired to run,” Cassian said, sighing. “They were all looking at me.”

“Of course they were. You just graduated from Yavin University. That's something to be very proud of.”

“I thought they all knew,” Cassian said. “They were all staring at me and I thought they all knew. And if they all knew, there had to be people in that audience who thought that at any moment I was going to pull a blaster out from under my gown and start shooting.”

“Cassian.”

“I'm serious, Jyn,” Cassian said strongly. “That's the stigma of mental illness in this country. That's what it's come down to. All these mass shootings all over the place, the media tries to pin every single one of them on the mentally ill. And yeah, the people who are doing this are obviously mentally ill, but they're not the majority of us. Hell, they're not even the minority of us. They're this splinter group that exists within a largely peaceful people.”

“I know, honey,” Jyn said, rubbing circles into Cassian's back. “But there's nothing that we can do to change the world's opinion on anything. Not by ourselves and certainly not overnight. That's a very long process to figure out.”

“I want you to write essays on me,” Cassian said suddenly. “I want you to write a book of essays on what it's like to live with and love a mentally ill person. And then I'll go to whatever lengths it takes to get it published. The world needs our story, Jyn.”

“I think you're a little out of it right now,” Jyn said. “Maybe we should go back to the ceremony.”

“I'm not out of it right now,” Cassian protested. “I'm being serious.”

“Then we'll talk about it later,” Jyn said. “Is that alright?”

“That's fine,” Cassian said, coming to a stop and dropping down to the asphalt. “I'm exhausted.”

Jyn crouched down next to him and ran a hand through his chin-length hair. “Your hair was so short when I met you.”

“Do you want me to cut it?”

“Only if you want to,” Jyn said, smiling. “Honey, I know you're exhausted but we can't just sit in the middle of the parking lot. There's a bench about fifty feet from us. Can you make it over there?”

Cassian looked up to see the bench and took a deep breath. “Give me a minute.”

“I'd give you the world if I could,” Jyn said, and they stayed there for a little while until Cassian started to get up. 

Jyn stood up and got a good hold on Cassian's arm, walking them over to the bench. Cassian collapsed down on it and put his head on Jyn's shoulder once she was seated.

“I love you, Jyn.”

“I love you too, Cassian.”

“I don't know what I'd do without you.”

“You're never going to have to find out,” Jyn said, letting her head rest on his. “I'm not going anywhere.”

*****

Jyn was watching Kes and Shara have their first dance as man and wife while Cassian stood behind her, arms wrapped around her waist. “That's going to be us someday,” she said softly. “I can picture it now.”

“We're going to need dancing lessons then,” Cassian said, making her chuckle. “I do believe we displayed at Luke and Mara's wedding that we're horrible dancers.”

“So we'll take dancing lessons then,” Jyn said, a smile on her face. “I have always wanted to ballroom dance.”

“You've always wanted to ballroom dance or you've wanted to ballroom dance since you first saw that show on Holonet”

Jyn laughed fully. “Okay, maybe it's the latter but does it really matter? I want to learn how to ballroom dance.”

“Then I will somehow work up the courage to take ballroom dancing classes with you,” Cassian said, pressing a kiss to her hair. “You look absolutely stunning tonight.”

“Thank you,” Jyn said, looking down at her pale pink gown with a soft yellow sash at the waist. “I really mean that. You bought the dress after all.”

“You bought the dress,” Cassian said firmly. “I told you, we're not doing the employer-employee paycheck thing anymore. You're an integral part of the company, it would not run smoothly without you, and what is mine is now yours.”

“I'm not having this argument tonight,” Jyn said, leaning back into Cassian's embrace. “We're going to get here someday, right? The wedding, the dress, the band, the dancing, all of it. We're headed here.”

“We are headed here,” Cassian confirmed. “But we're a long way from that.”

“I understand that,” Jyn said as Kes and Shara's parents joined them on the dance floor. “I'm glad that they're staying in Yavin.”

“Me too,” Cassian murmured. “I know I've got you, but I don't know what I'd do without Kes.” 

“I'm glad you have him,” Jyn said. “I'll forever be glad for Kes and his ridiculous pursuit of Shara.”

“Hey, it worked in the end,” Cassian laughed. “Kes got his girl and now she's his wife.”

Jyn turned to look at Cassian. “I meant I'll be forever glad that you came to the diner that night. Otherwise, we may never have met.”

“I like to think we would have,” Cassian murmured. “Fate and destiny and all of that stuff.”

“I thought you didn't believe in any of that.”

“I don't.” Cassian paused and smiled. “But then I met you and how could I not?”

Jyn turned around and kissed Cassian. “I think,” she murmured, “that it's entirely possible that I'm rubbing off on you.”

Cassian laughed. “You've been doing that since the day we met. I don't leave just anyone a hundred dollar tip.”

Jyn just shook her head. “You never should have given me those tips.”

“We're not going to have an argument about this, are we?” Cassian asked, weary. “Because that was a long time ago.”

“No, we are not,” Jyn said, noticing that their friends were making their way onto the dance floor. “What we are going to do is dance.”

“Did we not just talk about how we are horrible dancers?”

“I think we can slow dance,” Jyn said, taking Cassian by the hand and walking him onto the dance floor. “All we do is sway side to side.”

“Come here,” Cassian said, pulling Jyn flush against him. “Put your head on my shoulder and follow my lead.”

“Got it,” Jyn said, falling into step with him. “Cassian?”

“Hm?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Jyn felt Cassian's embrace tighten slightly and she smiled. They danced like that for a few minutes until Cassian felt a tap at his shoulder, turning to see Kes there.

“May I cut in?”

Cassian looked at Jyn, who just smiled, so he nodded and let Kes take over. He looked to his left to see Shara standing there expectantly, so he moved to her and asked her to dance. When they fell into step with one another, Shara grinned at him.

“You're next.”

“No,” Cassian said. “Absolutely not. Hera and Kanan are next, and then maybe Han and Leia, and some time in the distant future it will be Jyn and me.”

“Why are you so adverse to marriage?” 

“I just want it to be the only marriage I ever have,” Cassian murmured. “Everyone in my family lives by this six months rule. You know if you're going to marry each other after six months. I have no doubt that I'm going to marry Jyn, but I don't want to marry her six months after I met her.”

“Understandable,” Shara said, looking over at Kes as he made Jyn laugh. “I couldn't turn him down when he asked though. I knew he was the love of my life after two dates.”

“See, it's like that for some people,” Cassian said, smiling. “I'm just glad you lived up to and surpassed the idea of you he had in his head.”

“Me too,” Shara said, shaking her head when Kes attempted to dip Jyn and almost dropped her. “He's had a bit too much champagne.”

“It's your wedding,” Cassian said, laughing. “Of course he's had too much champagne.”

Shara just sighed. “I hope he doesn't make a fool of himself before we leave for our honeymoon.”

“Where are you going anyway?” Cassian asked. “I haven't heard.”

“Well, first we're spending the night tonight at the apartment, and then tomorrow afternoon we're flying out to Scarif.”

“Scarif? Nice.”

“We've both always wanted to visit there. Kes actually wants to live there some day,” Shara said. “His parents offered to pay for the honeymoon, so we're spending two weeks in Scarif. It'll be fun, hanging out on the beach.”

“My turn,” came Kanan's voice, and Cassian and Shara turned to see him standing there with his hand held out. “May I have this dance, Mrs. Dameron?”

Shara grinned at that. “I'm going to really enjoy being called Mrs. Dameron,” she said as she took Kanan's hand. “Thanks for the dance, Cassian.”

“You're welcome,” Cassian said, looking over to where Jyn was laughing with Hera and Leia. He decided not to interrupt them, so he made his way back to the table, finding Mara sitting there alone. “Is this seat taken?”

Mara looked up at him for a moment before shaking her head. “No, go ahead.”

“Left Ben home tonight?” Cassian asked. 

“Yes,” Mara said. “It's for the best. He doesn't need to be witness to these arguments, even if he is only a month old.”

“Things aren't going well with Luke I take it?”

“He is a twenty-year-old boy,” Mara said. “I am a twenty-three-year-old woman. There's a big difference.”

“That I will agree with,” Cassian said, leaning back in his chair. “Give him some time. He'll come around.”

“I am not sure I have the patience to wait,” Mara said. “He was angry with me yesterday when I said he could watch Ben while I am at school since all he does is write that stupid column. Did you read the one about the birth of our child? It's all about how scared he was the whole time, and how it got even scarier when he was born. Not a word about his joy or excitement or anything. Just fear. I might as well give up now. He's not going to change. He's a five-year-old boy in a twenty-year-old's body, and he's not going to grow up anytime soon.”

Cassian sighed. “I think it's safe to say that I probably know Luke better than you do, and I think he's changing. It's slow and it's subtle, but he's changing.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Well, he hasn't flirted with any of the bridesmaids, for one. He won't dance with any of them either. He's just grooving over there by the DJ booth all by himself. I think Hera took pity on him when she dragged him out for a real dance.”

“He does not wish to dance with me,” Mara murmured. “He does not wish to do anything with me.”

“You really want this to work, don't you?” Cassian asked, sudden understanding hitting him.

“Yes,” Mara said. “And it's not because I am afraid of the consequences should it not. It's because no matter how much of an idiot he is, I care deeply for him, and I think it could turn into love if I was given a real chance with him.”

“Have you talked to him about it?”

“Of course not. He does not wish to discuss anything with me.”

“Well, then I'm going to go drag him over here so you two can talk.”

“I am not sure that here is a good idea,” Mara said, looking over at Cassian. “But I would like the chance to speak with him, so maybe ask him to meet me on the balcony?”

Cassian watched as Mara pointed at a door and nodded. “I'll get him out there.”

“Thank you.”

They both stood up and went their separate ways. Cassian grabbed Luke around the elbow and pulled him off the dance floor. 

“Hey! What the hell are you doing, Cassian?”

“Telling you what an ass of a husband you're being,” Cassian said, stopping but not letting go of Luke's arm. “Your wife is miserable, Luke. You won't ask her to dance, you don't want to watch your son despite the fact that you'll be home all day and your wife will be in classes, and you aren't even giving this a fair chance. Get your shit together and get out onto that balcony and work things out.”

Luke sighed heavily. “I don't want to dance with her because she kept stepping on my toes at our wedding and it drives me crazy, I don't want to watch Ben because there is no guarantee that I'm going to be home all day everyday because my editor can call me in at any moment to go over what I wrote, and I'm trying to give this a fair chance but all she wants to do is talk. Talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, followed by more talking.”

Cassian reached up and smacked Luke on the back of his head. “Put up with the pain to dance with your wife, call me if you need to go into the office and I will watch Ben for you, and learn to talk and listen. Those are the two key things in a relationship. Talking and listening. Now get out on that balcony before I shove you out there and lock the door.”

Luke looked between Cassian and the door for a moment before walking towards the door. Cassian watched as he walked out the door, and started when Jyn wrapped her arms around him from behind. 

“Sorry,” Jyn said. “Didn't mean to startle you.”

“It's alright,” Cassian said, looking out at all the people crowding the dance floor. “Can we go sit somewhere quiet?”

“I was just thinking that,” Jyn said. “We can people watch and comment on their outfits.”

Cassian burst out laughing. “So we're the Fashion Police now?”

“Totally.”

*****

Cassian was pretty sure there had been unshed tears in Jyn's eyes since they'd gotten up that morning. He'd tried to be extra loving and to make her feel better, but if he was honest with himself, he was pretty upset too.

This was the day Han and Leia left for Corellia.

The goodbyes were happening at Massassi mansion instead of the airport because Leia didn't want a scene there. When Cassian and Jyn arrived, they were the first ones there, and Jyn immediately went to Leia and sobbed into her shoulder. Cassian stood next to Han for a moment before reaching out to shake his hand.

“I know this is a sad day, but are you excited?”

“Thrilled,” Han said, a smile crossing his face. “But I am worried about Leia. She's been in tears most of the week.”

Cassian just nodded. “It's a shame that Kes and Shara couldn't be here.”

“We said goodbye to them at the wedding,” Han said. “They were good at reminding Leia that she's only a phone call or text away.”

“Good,” Cassian said, watching as Leia led Jyn to the sofa to sit down. “Jyn's a mess. Leia has been her best friend for so long, and she's so sad to be losing her.”

“Well, she's not losing her for good,” Han pointed out. “Leia can come visit whenever she wants, plus we're going to live here in the off season.”

“Oh, are you? I hadn't heard that?”

“Yup,” Han said. “You can take the girl out of Yavin but you can't take Yavin out of the girl. I learned that very quickly.”

Cassian laughed. “I understand that. I don't know if Jyn would come with me if I moved somewhere else.”

Han stared at Cassian like he was crazy. “Of course she'd go with you! You're an idiot if you think she wouldn't.”

“Maybe,” Cassian said. “It's just the way my mind works. Think of the logical and it will come up with the batshit crazy version and believe it.”

“I can't imagine what you go through, man,” Han said. “And you somehow keep it all together so no one would know if they looked at you. It's impressive.”

“I perfected my public persona a long time ago,” Cassian said. “The real thing is very different. Only two people have seen that. Kes and Jyn. And no matter how much I love our group of friends, I'd like it to stay that way.”

“Well, I think you're great,” Han said. “Public persona or not. I'm really glad I met you, Cassian. I wouldn't have made it through my classes this year without you.”

“Well, I'm glad I met you too,” Cassian said. “And I want you to stay in the test group that we've set up. You'll just be a long distance member.”

“Awesome!” Han exclaimed, looking over at Leia and Jyn when the doorbell rang. “I better get that.”

Cassian nodded as Han walked away, then headed over to the sofa where Leia and Jyn were. “Baby? I think you need to let go of Leia now.”

“She's leaving me,” Jyn cried. “My best friend is leaving me.”

Cassian reached out and smoothed Jyn's hair. “You're still going to see lots of her.”

Jyn pulled back and looked at Cassian. “Why are you lying to me? I'm not going to see lots of her.”

“Well, there's the trips home that Leia has already talked about, there's video chats and all sorts of other ways that you can see her, and of course we'll see them when we're at the games.”

“Games?” Jyn asked, confusion written across her face. “What do you mean by games?”

Cassian reached for his phone, clicked through to his email, found the right one and then handed it to Jyn. “You and I are the newest season ticket holders for the Corellia Falcons. That way, we can go to as many games as we can without worrying about if we could get tickets. I've already talked to Leia about it. She said we're more than welcome to stay with them in the house Han rented. So you'll get to see as much of Leia as you want when we go.”

Jyn turned to Leia. “Why didn't you say something?”

“Hey, it wasn't my surprise,” Leia said, holding up her hands. “It wasn't my place to tell you.”

Jyn accepted that and turned back to Cassian, launching herself at him and hugging him tightly. “Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

“There's no need to thank me,” Cassian said. “I'm being selfish. I like Han and Leia a lot, and I am going to miss them too. So I figured out a way that we could see them.”

Jyn pulled back and sniffled. “You're the best, Cassian. You really are.”

“Nah, I'm really not. I'm just the antithesis of an asshole.”

Jyn laughed. “That you are.”

Han came into the room moments later with Hera, Kanan, Luke, Mara, and little Ben, and Leia immediately made her way over to Mara and the baby. Luke ended up sitting down next to Cassian, and he looked over at him.

“Thanks.”

“For what?” Cassian asked.

“For kicking my ass and getting me in line,” Luke said. 

“Glad I could help,” Cassian said, as Jyn peered at him curiously. “Just stop being an ass about being a husband and father, and I think you'll be alright.”

“What are you talking about?” Jyn asked.

“Cassian helped me see I was being an asshole to my wife at Kes and Shara's wedding,” Luke said, looking over at Mara and the baby. “They're my future. It might not be love with Mara yet, but there's definitely a spark. We talked about turning the spark into a flame, and so that's what we're determined to do. But no matter what happens, they're my future.”

“Well, I'm glad to hear you say that, Luke,” Jyn said. “It's about time you settled down and matured a little. I swear, you still act like that middle school brat I met when Leia first brought me over here.”

Luke just rolled his eyes. “I am completely responsible and totally mature, thank you very much. I have a steady job, which is apparently getting more popular with each column published according to the feedback we're getting, and I have a great penthouse apartment to live in, and I have a wife and child whom I adore. So shut up about the middle school brat thing.”

Jyn just shook her head. “You might think those things make you totally mature, but they don't. It's your attitude, Luke. And that's where you run into problems.”

“She's right,” Cassian interjected. “We did talk about how it was your attitude and actions that were making Mara so upset. It's not about material things. It's about how you express yourself and how you accept things in life.”

Luke just stared at them for a moment before getting up. “I don't have to listen to this psychobabble.”

Jyn held back a laugh as he walked away, putting her head on Cassian's shoulder. “He is so not totally mature.”

“I know,” Cassian said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “I've already told Mara that if she wants to spend the night elsewhere, she and Ben are welcome to settle in one of our spare bedrooms.”

“That's a good idea. I know that she would hate to go home to her parents,” Jyn murmured. “She told her parents it was a love match. That's why they went along with such a quick wedding.”

“I think maybe it could be down the road,” Cassian said, reaching for Jyn's hand when Han announced that it was time to go. “Come on.”

Jyn sniffled as she stood up, fresh tears in her eyes. “I don't want her to leave.”

“I know, baby,” Cassian said, pulling her close as they all made their way out into the driveway.

Leia and Han went around and gave everyone a hug before making their way to the car. Once inside, Han rolled down the driver's side window and called out. “We'll see all of you real soon! Promise!”

Everyone yelled “Ok” and waved as Han backed the car out of the driveway. Jyn buried her face in Cassian's neck as the tears came, and Cassian just held her tight until the car was completely out of sight. 

“They're gone now,” Cassian whispered. “You can look.”

Jyn slowly pulled away and looked at the empty driveway, sniffling. “She's gone.”

“She'll be back,” Cassian soothed. “And we'll see them.”

Jyn nodded. “We will see them again soon.”

“It's only six weeks until their first preseason game.”

“Six weeks,” Jyn said. “I think I can handle six weeks.”

“Good,” Cassian said, looking around as their friends were dispersing to their cars. “You ready to go home?

“Yeah,” Jyn said. “Home.”

*****

Cassian walked into the office space he'd bought for the first time since he'd originally seen it. It was a small building in downtown Yavin that used to be a bakery. There was an upstairs that had been used for storage, and downstairs had been a counter and a kitchen, but those had been removed by the time Cassian saw it. When he was told the building was for sale, and he realized buying the building would be cheaper than any of the other office spaces he had seen, he made an offer and had agreed to buy the building by that afternoon.

He'd given the keys to Jyn once the closing was finished, and he told her to turn it into an office, cost be damned. And looking around, Jyn had done just that. 

The walls were painted a muted yellow, soft-looking in the sunlight streaming in from the front windows. There were ten workstations situated in rows of two, and each one was outfitted with brand new computers and monitors and decorated by the person who would be working there. 

In the back was another two workstations, this time larger than the ones in the front. There were four screens on each of them, hooked up to brand new computers and cable television for when there was important breaking news. Jyn smiled at him from behind the desk on the left, so Cassian walked around to the back of the desk on the right. His work on four different games was up on each screen, and there were test phones for each game. He spent a moment looking at everything before turning to Jyn and grinning.

“This is amazing.”

“Well, I wanted it to be the best,” Jyn said. “State of the art everything. I had Kes's help in picking some of it out.”

“And the test group?” 

“Meets upstairs. Upstairs also doubles as a break room slash lunch room when there's no test group going on.”

“Brilliant.”

Cassian turned to the screens and watched them for a moment. “Which games are these?”

“Oh!” Jyn said, sliding over to Cassian's workstation. “I forgot to put the sticky notes up.”

Cassian watched as Jyn put a small Post-It note on the bottom of each screen. “Criminal Wars, Waitress, Candy Machine, and Vicious Jungle. The others are working in pairs on different parts of Firewalker.”

Jyn slid back to her workstation and started typing again. “And what are you up to?”

“Emailing Holonet because the app store still has not posted the update for Vicious Jungle and people on tablets are getting restless.”

Cassian looked around at everything and everyone before sitting back in his chair and trying to take it all in. This was Captain A Industries. This was the company he'd started in his dorm room freshman year, when his only beta tester was Kes, when his ideas and dreams only made up about twenty levels. Now he was sitting in a building he owned watching employees he paid work on an app that had just been a thought he'd had at some point in high school, scribbled into a notebook when he should have been paying attention in class.

It was a lot to take in.

Eventually Cassian slid his chair over to where Jyn was and kissed her. “I can't believe that this is my company. It's always just been me, and now it's all of this. What happened?”

Jyn grinned. “You finally realized that the business was too much for just you to handle. It may have taken a lot of talking from me and Kes to figure it out, but you did in the end.”

“Thank you,” Cassian murmured. “This...none of this would be possible without you. You're my rock, Jyn. You're the one I cling to when everything seems to be going to hell. And it will again.”

“It will,” Jyn agreed. “But I'll be there when it does. You said I'm your rock. Well, rocks as big as one you need to cling to take a lot to move. No ocean crashing into me can make me move. No earthquake can make me move. I'm here, and I'm staying, and you are not alone, Cassian. You are very much not alone.”

“For the first time,” Cassian said, “I think I believe you when you say that. I'm not alone. I'm really not alone.”

Jyn smiled and kissed him again. “So glad you finally realize it.”

“I don't know why it took me so long,” Cassian said. “Actually I do. It's my mind. It likes to play tricks on me. It didn't want me to realize that.”

Jyn reached out and tangled her hand into Cassian's hair. “I love your mind. Even if it plays tricks on you. I love everything about you, Cassian. The good, the bad, the ugly. Everything.”

Cassian leaned in for another kiss. “You haven't seen the ugly yet.”

“Doesn't matter,” Jyn said. “I'll still be here when it happens. You're not alone, Cassian.”

“I'm not alone,” Cassian said, taking a deep breath. “I'm really not alone. Shall we get back to work?”

Jyn grinned and let go of him, turning back to her keyboard. Cassian slid back over to his workstation, looked at all the apps to work on, and smiled.

He wasn't alone. Not anymore.


End file.
